Dearest Starling
by LalaMoped
Summary: What's a host to do when he's suddenly engaged to someone he's never met before? It's amazing how a wedding can bring people together. HunnyOC MoriOC HikaOC KaoOC TamaHaru KyouRen - Post-anime - Rated T for language
1. Chapter 1

**Dearest Starling**

**Chapter One**

Haninozuka Mitsukuni had always been considered a little childish; which was, in some aspects, a misconception. He was short for an adult, not even five feet tall, and his face still held child-like features. He still ate cake for every meal, much to his families' dismay, but also had the wisdom to rival most men twice his age.

It was on one such occasion, that Mitsukuni—or Hunny, as he was more commonly called—was eating his frosting-covered breakfast, when his father approached him in a manner too calm to bode well for the small blond.

The older man shook his head melancholically, "Pastries for breakfast again, Mitsukuni? What would your wife say?"

This was how Hunny was informed of his engagement.

* * *

Morinozuka Takashi waited for his smaller cousin every morning. It was a fact that Hunny was not a morning person, and that he believed that cake (which was the only thing he lived for) could only be enjoyed when one took their time eating it. For these reasons, Takashi—better known as Mori—spent at least half an hour each day, waiting for Hunny, who was always late. This day, however, he seemed more behind schedule than usual. The two cousins' first class of the day had started ten minutes ago, and just when Mori was about to enter the Haninozuka's front gate to check on Hunny, he came out dragging his feet in a most un-Hunny-like manner.

The two sat beside one another in the back of their obscenely expensive car; Mori, waiting for an explanation from Hunny, who didn't seem interested in speaking at the moment. After several minutes, Mori decided that his cousin would need a nudge to get him speaking, and so began the conversation with an inquiring, "Hn?"

It seemed this was all the encouragement that Hunny needed, as began to recall his morning, in meticulous detail, until Mori was nearly sure he would never get to the part that was actually upsetting… until the word "fiancée" came into play.

It was not uncommon for two people from well-established families to get married, nor was it uncommon for the parents of each person to find and set up these marriages. These days, though, the two parties involved both had the right to refuse someone they didn't want to marry. This usually resulted in being shunned by one's family, but it _was_ an option. Mori knew Hunny would never do something like that, though.

"And he wants me back by three to meet her. What will I do if she is mean, or she doesn't like Usa-chan?" Hunny finished, tears welling up in the back of his eyes. Mori wondered absently if it was a habit, created by too much time spent in the host club, or if he really was that sensitive to the idea of a woman acting aggressively towards him and his stuffed rabbit.

They arrived at their campus only moments later, Hunny taking a second to clean himself up, before they both stepped out and walked through the courtyard.

None of the original hosts went to the same college, besides Hunny and himself at a basic, yet still high-profile university; the Hitachiin twins at some American design school or another; and Tamaki, who had transferred to Haruhi's law school in order to "watch over" her. There was really no reason for Hunny and Mori to be in college, both of them being from clans that had only ever really been known for combat and land-ownership, but it was insisted that men with degrees looked better, no matter where their wealth stemmed from.

* * *

The Hoshiyama family wasn't exactly well known among upper class society. They were only wealthy due to the luck that Hoshiyama Makuno had encountered when a vase of her grandmother's had fetched an astonishingly high price at an auction. The money had been wisely (and auspiciously) invested in certain stocks, and in ten years, the fifty-year-old widow had managed to create such a sum that she would never have to work again. All Makuno wanted now, was the child that she had been denied when her husband had gotten sick at a young age. It was obvious that she was too old to have a child of her own, and surrogacy wasn't an option, either. Her only option, then, was to adopt, which was the exact moment that Makuno realized just how high on the waiting list she could go if she was willing to place a few bribes.

On that hot morning in July, Makuno received a days-old baby girl who had been abandoned by her mother. Makuno named this baby Natsumi, after the season of her birth, and for the flecks of sunrise in her eyes and the sunset auburn of her hair. It was no secret to Natsumi that she was adopted; even from a young age, the girl was aware of the age difference between her mother and everyone else's parents. Perhaps it was this fact, or perhaps it was Natsumi's family standing as "new money" that made all of her classmates detest her from the beginning, not to mention that she was timid by nature.

Natsumi put all of her effort and free time into drawing and photography. She took pictures of everything that she considered beautiful, her favorites being portraits of people who stood out to her, not just for physical beauty, but for good deeds as well. A vast majority of her walls were covered in corkboard, which was full of images held there by thumbtacks.

Natsumi had learned everything she would need to know to act as a perfect traditional Japanese bride by the time she was ten. Lessons consisted of Biwa practice, Noh Mai dancing, and obi tying—which didn't take Natsumi very long to perfect.

When Natsumi graduated high school, Makuno put the word out that she had a daughter in need of a husband, and found out from a friend, that a friend of a friend's friend was having trouble finding a wife for their son. They required a girl who was no taller than five feet, kind, patient, and above all, willing to deal with a lot of sweets and stuffed animals. Strange guidelines they were, but they described Natsumi to the letter, and that was all that mattered. There was then the matter of Natsumi's needs; she was quiet and shy, and easily intimidated, especially by men. One look at a picture of the potential groom, though, made Makuno certain that her daughter would be just fine with the little chocolate-eyed blond.

"Ah, Hoshiyama-san, it is nice to finally meet you. And this must be Natsumi-chan." Haninozuka Yorihisa, the father of her (more than likely) husband-to-be, greeted them politely as Natsumi and her mother entered the Haninozuka's stately home. Yet, even though he wasn't a tall man, and had made no move to threaten her, Natsumi still stood shyly behind her mother.

Makuno bowed politely in return, "Yes, it seems like our meeting has been put off for far too long. Natsumi, say hello to Haninozuka-san."

Natsumi's face automatically turned red, "H-hai, Kaa-san. K-konnichi wa, Haninozuka-sama."

Yorihisa then motioned for the two of them to sit. "I'm sorry," he began to apologize, "For my son's tardiness. He'll be here soon." The three of them had tea while they waited.

* * *

Hunny fidgeted nervously on the ride home. Now, not only would he be meeting his future wife on a bad note, he would also be punished for forgetting and being late. Mori tried his best to calm Hunny, but the smaller of the two men was too worked up for anything to reach his brain at the moment. As the vehicle pulled up to the Haninozuka compound, Hunny was out the door before the driver even had a chance to shift into park.

Hunny ran as fast as he could through the house to the sitting room, where he threw open the door. Six eyes turned to him before he realized what he had done, and blushed a very light pink. He bowed quickly, then, to cover his embarrassment, "Sorry I'm late."

Yorihisa waved a hand toward the seat next to him, beckoning his son to sit, before he introduced their guests—not that Hunny needed an introduction.

"Mitsukuni, this is Hoshiyama Makuno-san, and Natsumi-chan."

Natsumi blushed at the mention of her name, and kept her honey-gold eyes downcast. Upon seeing this, some of Hunny's anxiety went away. It appeared that she was even more nervous than him.

"Nice to meet you, Natsumi-chan!" Hunny said with his usual cheery attitude.

Natsumi jumped, startled, but recovered quickly. "The pleasure is mine, Mitsukuni-kun."

Hunny blinked, perplexed at what she had called him. Then again, how was she supposed to know that most people called him Hunny? And, he supposed, it wouldn't be suitable for a bride to call her groom by surname, even if it was a nickname for his surname.

"Mitsukuni, perhaps you could show Natsumi-chan the garden, while Hoshiyama-san and I discuss a few matters," Hunny's father asked in a way that was more of an order than anything.

Hunny nodded and offered a hand to Natsumi, pulling her gently to her feet. When they stood, she was about a centimeter taller than him, which was acceptable, seeing as how there weren't many women as short as he was.

She followed him out of the room, where he realized that in his haste, he had thrown his bag and Usa-chan on the floor on his way in. Before going to the garden, he made a detour to the place where the pink rabbit lay, and scooped it into his arms.

"Natsumi-chan, this is Usa-chan. She's cute, ne?" he asked, testing her for a reaction.

The girl, who seemed afraid to look at him, finally glanced at him, taking in the sight of a boy—no _man_—who was older than her, holding a pink bunny. She fought back a gasp and a blush tinted her cheeks. What she saw before her was the most adorable thing on Earth—and she didn't mean _just_ the rabbit. When the confusion of this concept wore off, she couldn't help but smile warmly.

"Hai, the cutest thing I've ever seen," she confessed quietly.

Hunny's expression of concentration receded after hearing her say that, and his bubbly personality shone through. "Come on, Natsu-chan! Let's have some cake in the garden!" he exclaimed, running off in another direction.

Natsumi followed, a little confused, but still smiling nevertheless.

* * *

Fujioka Haruhi left her class, shuffling papers absently while watching where she was going. Law school was no walk in the park.

_Especially a prestigious one like this_, she thought testily.

It wasn't the classes that had her annoyed, she had always been very smart; it wasn't the high-society bitchy attitudes around her, she had gotten used to that in high school. A golden blur suddenly ran up to her, embracing her tightly. This gold blur was also known as Suou Tamaki, the starting point of her irritation.

"Haruhi! I was so worried!" he cried, voice muffled by her hair.

She only sighed, knowing that nothing she did would make him leave her alone. "I was only five minutes late. I had to speak to Sensei…"

Tamaki held her at arm's length, pouting at her in a way that made every other girl squeal in delight. "Haruhi, why do you torment me so?" he asked, and then began spouting French dramatics before she could answer.

Haruhi was aggravated by the way he threw himself at her, then retreated to his corner of woe whenever she didn't respond as romantically as he would have liked. Even if he hadn't been intelligent enough to get into any school he wanted, his family had enough money for him to buy his way in.

_So why not overseas?_ thought Haruhi, scowling.

The truth was that she didn't really want him to go away. When he had nearly been forced to marry Éclair, it had been a terrible time for Haruhi, for the host club. She had taken a frickin' horse-drawn carriage to bring him back, for goodness sakes! Even still, she wondered if things would have been easier on her if he hadn't realized that what he felt for her was love, and not the creepy "fatherly" adoration that he had claimed it was at first.

_Damn Hikaru…_ Haruhi remembered what he had said when he and Kaoru had left for America the spring before.

_Hikaru gave a devilish laugh, "I'm giving up on you for now, but only because Tono wills it. He says he's putting his all into making you love him. Do me a favor and crush his spirit a few times while I'm gone, or his ego might burst."_

She learned later on that Hikaru had told Tamaki that she "loved him with such a passion that she felt she may die without his embrace"—that's how Tamaki had relayed the message, anyway. Haruhi would say one thing for her troublesome classmates, though: While Tamaki knew how to make an entrance, the Hitachiin twins were true masters at making an exit.

* * *

Hitachiin Hikaru sneezed as he strode through the hallway of his and his brother's New York design school, wondering where said brother had wandered off to. The younger of the twins, Kaoru, hadn't even answered his phone, and after an hour of waiting, Hikaru had left their condo to look for Kaoru. After checking all the empty classrooms he came across, he began to search the study rooms. Just when he was about ready to have a Tamaki-like meltdown, he opened the last door to see Kaoru hunched over a table, stabbing pins mercilessly into a piece of fabric.

"Kaoru, what are you doing?" he asked, sitting on the stool across from his look-alike.

Kaoru looked up briefly, before explaining, "I had this idea last night, so I sketched it; but I couldn't sleep with it just sitting there, so I came to one of the empty workrooms this morning."

Hikaru nodded slightly, his anxiety receding. He sat quietly, watching Kaoru work until he remembered something, "I almost forgot. Look what we got in the mail today." Hikaru fished the pink and gold letter from his pocket and passed it across the table to Kaoru.

Kaoru took it in his hand and curiously turned it over a few times. He raised an eyebrow at his brother, "You didn't open it?"

Hikaru shook his head, "I was a little _preoccupied_ this morning."

Kaoru understood what his older twin was saying and looked back down to the letter, "My battery must have died."

"Uh-huh."

Kaoru ignored this and instead opened the delicate-looking envelope to read its contents aloud. "_Dear Misters Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin, by request of Haninozuka Mitsukuni, you have been invited to the Imperial Hotel Tokyo for the wedding of Haninozuka Mitsukuni and Hoshiyama Natsumi. The dates are as follows…_"

Hikaru blinked, "Hunny-senpai's getting married?"

"I didn't even know he had a girlfriend," the two brothers said in unison.

* * *

**A/n: So here's the first of the restructured chapters, combining ****_Dearest_**** and ****_Starling_**** into one story. This version should a little better because, even though the story is still the same, it's been four years since I originally wrote it, so I was able to catch some of my errors and inconsistencies this time through.**

**As with the original version, English is ****_italicized_**** when characters are speaking, otherwise, it's a thought or flashback.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Dearest Starling**

**Chapter Two**

Kokoro Uta—usually simply referred to as "Korota"—was a band best known in Japan, Hawaii and, strangely, Germany. They were Komugi, Minori, Izumi, and Sumire Shigemiwa, Japanese-Americans, who had gotten famous by using Minori and Izumi, identical twins, as frontmen. This gave the twins the largest fan base of the group, and among this fan base was none other than Hoshiyama Natsumi. Now the group was on their way to Tokyo, where they had been hired to play at a said fan's wedding.

Minori looked at the board again and whined. Their flight had been delayed for another hour due to a big storm. "_Ugh! How much longer?_" she asked, restlessly.

Her younger twin mostly ignored her, as she played a handheld game and only looked up to check the time every now and then. "_It's a good thing we decided to go a few days early as a 'vacation'_," Izumi muttered, putting extra sarcasm on the 'vacation' part.

Her older brother caught the passive aggressive jab and glared at her, "_I already told you, no vacations. We've got sound checks, and practicing, and schmoozing to do, so just put up and shut up._"

"_I think a vacation would be nice. We go all over the world, and we never get to visit any sights,_" Sumire, the youngest sibling, interjected.

Minori sat up a little straighter (she had a nasty habit of slouching), and looked at her brother, "Komugi-niisan,_ why are we going five days early if we don't get to look around a little?_"

"_We have to set things up and get our costumes fitted. Then we have to go to the rehearsal dinner the day before the wedding, be at the wedding, and play again for the reception. It's, like, a three day thing._"

"_**The flight to Tokyo is now boarding. Thank you for your patience.**_**"**

Hikaru and Kaoru stood, happy that they could finally get on the plane and get going. As Kaoru handed him his carryon, Hikaru asked, "Why don't we have a private jet, again?"

This was something of a joke, because the Hitachiin family _did_ have a jet, it was usually tied up with their mother's business. They passed through the gate first, possessing first-class tickets, and made their way to the plane without paying much attention to anyone outside 'their world'.

The twins behind them didn't notice much of anything around them, either, but this was because they were trying to browbeat their older brother into letting them have some time off. None of the Shigemiwa siblings even noticed when Hikaru's strap came loose, and the contents of his carryon spilled across the floor.

One of the young ladies, about to give the taller man of her group a piece of her mind, turned toward him suddenly, just as her foot came in contact with one of Hikaru's fallen objects, and began a fantastic display of flight, backwards, through the air. The whole affair would have been funny as hell to both Hitachiin's, had her freefalling body not been on a direct collision course with Hikaru. The older twin flinched in anticipation for the blow, but when none came, he opened his eyes to see that she had disappeared. Amazingly, she had somehow overshot him by a foot, and landed hard on her back on the other side.

Izumi saw stars for a conscious moment before the pain came. She stared, dumbfounded, at the ceiling, feeling bruised and thankful that she didn't seem to have a concussion.

"_'Zumi!_ _Are you okay?_" Minori asked, stepping around the human obstacle that was Hikaru, and kneeling at Izumi's side.

"_Ouch._"

Minori helped her sister into a sitting position, all the while checking for anything that looked out of place on her sister's body. When everything was fine, Izumi turned an angry glare onto the person who had caused her fall.

"_Watch where you're dropping stuff!_" she yelled.

"_Why don't you watch where you're going?_" Hikaru snapped back.

"_I wouldn't have to if you had kept the aisle clear, you clumsy oaf!_"

"_I'm not the one flat on my ass, so who's the clumsy one here?_"

Minori tugged on her sister's arm, "_People are staring._"

Hikaru went to say something else, but Kaoru interrupted. "_We're sorry about the mess. Are you okay?_"

Izumi regarded him skeptically, but nodded nonetheless, turning narrowed eyes to Hikaru, "_Yes, I'm fine. Thank you._" She looked at him like she wanted him to spontaneously catch fire, as she righted herself and brushed imaginary dust from her pants.

Komugi and Sumire had been quiet until Komugi felt the need to tease Izumi about her fall, and Sumire made an observation. "_Hey, you aren't the only twins around for once,_" she pointed out to her sisters.

The twins and Komugi hadn't really noticed this, being so used to seeing double. Sure, they had come across twins before, but none that look quite so similar as the two in front of them.

Hikaru and Kaoru also took note of this. The two girls that they had recently been fighting were completely alike. If they had been wearing the same clothes and if the more friendly one hadn't curled her hair and done her makeup, they would have been difficult to tell apart, even by a trained eye. The Hitachiin twins, though, could see a few differences, just as they could pick out the subtle distinctions between themselves, granted they were few and far between. The first indicator was the scowl on one's face, giving her a faint, permanent line between her eyebrows that indicated her common use of the expression. This same girl also had hazel eyes that had held a strange, almost watery hue in them. The other girl was smiling calmly, dark hair curled perfectly and cosmetics applied so well that it seemed almost natural. This girl had eyes that seemed a little darker than her sister's.

The two sets of twins assessed each other in less than a second, before the Shigemiwa family moved along to their seats, stepping around Hikaru, who finished shoving everything that was sprawled over the carpet into his bag.

* * *

The famous Imperial Floor of the Imperial Hotel Tokyo had mostly been completely rented out to guests of the Haninozuka-Hoshiyama wedding that would take place in less than a week. Regular guests would check in the day before the wedding and leave the day after; more exclusive guests, such as close friends and family, would be staying from Monday until Sunday, when everyone would be leaving. The Exclusive List, as their wedding planner had called it, should only have the names of the people closest to the couple, and should leave room for each person to have one guest, should the need arise. All in all, this was the list: Haninozuka Family, Hoshiyama Family, Morinozuka Takashi, Suou Tamaki, Fujioka Haruhi, Ootori Kyouya, Hitachiin Hikaru, Hitachiin Kaoru, Takuro Momoe, Opal Willard-Jones, Amelia Willard-Jones, Isaac Beresford, Shigemiwa Family.

Natsumi sighed, looking at her copy of the list again. Minus family members, she had one guest that she actually _knew_ coming, four that she idolized, and three that her mother had taken the liberty of inviting for her. The Willard-Jones family owned one of the largest publishing companies in the world, Opal being the head of this company, and Amelia being the heiress. Isaac, on the other hand, Natsumi had never even been in a crowded dining hall with (for that was the extent of her acquaintance to Amelia); all she knew about him was that he had recently inherited some kind of corporation, and had been engaged to Amelia in very much the same fashion that Natsumi and Hunny had been engaged.

When Hunny suddenly bounded into the room, dragging Mori with him, Natsumi was pulled from her musings.

"Natsu-chan! Takashi and I are going to get ice cream, do you want to come?" he bounced excitedly from his toes to his heels and back again.

Natsumi looked at the tall man as the frequent feeling of terror began to curl in her stomach. "Ah, no! Thank you, Mistukuni-kun, but I have very… important things to do," she lied. She was actually bored to tears, but she wasn't about to get into a car with her fiancé's intimidating cousin. She picked up the folder with all the finished wedding arrangements, and held it up as if it would somehow prove that she really was busy.

Hunny tilted his head sweetly, "I can help you with that."

Natsumi's face suddenly went deathly pale before it flushed as red as a tomato. "No, no, no, Mitsukuni-kun! I'll handle it, I'm fine!" she waved her hands in front of her, instantly wishing she could lie without digging herself deeper, for once.

Hunny smiled widely at her, "Okay, then!" With that said, he turned on his heel and skipped back out the door, Mori in tow.

Once outside, Mori looked down at his little cousin, "I thought you said that everything was ready, Mitsukuni."

Hunny nodded, "It is. I think she's just shy."

"Ah."

* * *

The home of the Willard-Jones family could be classified as nothing less than a mansion, and was located in Northern England. If Amelia had cared enough to learn her family history, she might have known when, exactly, her family came into possession of their fortune. Apparently she had an ancestor that had been a duke, or something, though that could hardly account for what they had now.

"_Miss Willard-Jones, your mother asks if you are ready yet?_" one of the staff asked from outside her door.

Amelia gave the mirror a distasteful look before replying, "_A few more minutes._" Her mother had always said: _'A woman is only as good as the concealer she uses.'_ Amelia dabbed more foundation onto a triangular sponge, wiping it over the bruise on her cheekbone, hoping silently that the swelling wasn't noticeable. Amelia was vain by nature, perhaps caused by years of being told that external beauty was the only thing that mattered, perhaps simply due to her own character flaw. Regardless, she spent more hours in front of the mirror than she cared to count, and was rarely completely satisfied with the results. When every blemish—existent or not—was covered, she finally stood and collected her handbag, looking at the full body mirror on her way out.

Isaac waited for her in the foyer, looking like the gentleman he should have truly been. Amelia wondered if he resented her and slept around because he hadn't had the chance to live as an adult before they were engaged as teens, or if he was just destined to be a cad.

He held an arm out to her, and Amelia had to fight not to ask him to point to where the camera was; this was, after all, paparazzi behavior. Instead of earning a slap (which would be saved for when they were in private), she bit her tongue and placed a delicate hand on his arm, which was almost as delicate as her own. The man didn't know the meaning of 'work', then again, neither did Amelia, really.

Isaac escorted Amelia to the limousine, where her mother was already waiting in a none-too-patient manner. This was Opal Willard-Jones we were talking about, and when she said jump, there was often a chorus of _'How high?'_s.

Amelia sat between her mother and fiancé, which could be compared to sitting between two rotating saw blades; one wrong move, and she could expect something terrible from either side.

* * *

Renge perched herself annoyingly on the edge of Kyouya's desk, where he was typing away at his Pineapple laptop. She stayed there, watching him over his shoulder, and unwittingly irritating him to no end.

Kyouya kept calm and asked, "Is there something you need, Renge?"

She finally stopped looking at his computer screen and instead asked him a question of her own. "Why didn't you tell me Hunny-senpai was getting married?"

"If you weren't invited, it wasn't my place to say anything," he retorted coldly.

She would have flinched back, but she had gotten used to his indifference a few months ago, and now she just held on tight over the rocky points in their conversations. The two of them weren't really dating, but for some reason, she felt like they were. After debating her next request for a few minutes, she finally decided to ask, "Would you take me with you?"

Kyouya stared, disturbed by her forward approach, but recovered with a grace that only he could ever possess. "No," he answered flatly, "Because that would mean that I'd have to share my suite with you, and I'd much rather have it to myself. Besides, I'm not your Miyabi, and I've never confessed to loving you, Renge."

She was only slightly hurt by this comment, but refused to show it. Instead, she opted to argue with him. "Why not?" she asked, "It's not like you'll ever love anyone, anyway, so why not pretend? After all, of all the women in the world, who have you known the longest? Who has been willing to give you her heart from the beginning?" She paused for a minute, these were not the points that would get Kyouya to listen to her. There was only one thing she could say, "And, we both know, that whoever I marry gets joint-ownership of my father's company, which should be enough for you to crush _your_ father's with. Or isn't that what you want?"

Kyouya knew bribery when he heard it, but she was still partially correct. He only had one thing to cling to, though, and that was the fact that if he agreed, she'd turn it around in her head that he desired a relationship with her. Perhaps it was cruel, but he had to make her understand that all aspects of his life, even love, were strictly business. "Even if I marry you, I'll never feel affection for you," he warned her, more for his sake than for hers.

"I know," she said, standing, "But you're a host, and hosts prosper when pretending."

The silence that engulfed the room was deafening. When had Renge's mind fallen from the flowery idealism of girlhood into the cynical darkness of reality? Kyouya was left speechless by her evaluation of him, and the fact that it was mostly true was even more surprising. He swallowed a lump in his throat after a minute, and then said the only fact there was left to say. "We leave in an hour."

* * *

The Imperial Hotel Tokyo was home to thirteen restaurants, serving foods from a variety of different countries. The Exclusive List guests would all be meeting at the Parkside Diner at one o'clock on Monday. The ex-hosts had all decided to meet an hour beforehand to have some time together before the other guests arrived; Hunny had a sneaking suspicion that they also wanted to inspect his bride.

Said bride was sitting to his left, wringing her hands worriedly. She kept her eyes averted, and when she did look up, she never looked in his direction. This was probably because Mori was sitting to his right, and the girl—for reasons Hunny couldn't fathom—seemed terrified of his silent cousin. She glanced at the clock for the hundredth time, and went back to studying her lap.

Hunny also looked at the clock, 11:53; she was probably feeling more anxiety now than ever. The light caught her engagement ring, and Hunny hummed in thought. He hadn't really thought it was a necessary gift, with them getting married barely a month after meeting. The look on her face when he had placed the velvet box in her hand, though, had been undeniably adorable. He couldn't understand why she was so shy, but if it meant cute expressions like those, he'd be willing to deal with it. Even now, her face was tinted pink across her cheeks, and her brow was furrowed in concentration, but the pout on her lips was what really made the scene look endearing.

Hunny sighed inwardly. While he may act like a child, he had a clear understanding of the adult mind, and he was noticing how the fact that their parents had hardly let them leave each other's side was affecting the way he looked at her. This, coupled with the fact that he had no initial objections to marrying her, would probably mean that even if he never had romantic feelings for her, he could still care for her the way a husband should. Hunny couldn't help but feel a thankfulness toward his father for finding someone who matched him so well.

Mori noticed that Hunny was in deep thought. "Something wrong, Mitsukuni?" he asked.

"Eh?" Hunny looked at him, "Oh, no. I hope they get here soon, I'm hungry!" Hunny was instantly back to his usual self, then, bouncing in his seat, and telling Natsumi about the host club members, and how much fun they were. Mori saw her smiling genuinely at Hunny, as he continued on with his stories, while she listened intently. Mori smiled, too, happy for his cousin.

The first hosts to arrive were the twins, who had apparently just checked in, and had come right to the diner. "We meant to get on the plane at eight in the morning yesterday, so we could be here today by ten, but the flight was delayed for a couple hours," Kaoru explained.

"It's okay, have a seat."

Hikaru and Kaoru sat across from Hunny, putting Kaoru three seats to the right of Mori, and Hikaru four. "Are you going to introduce us?" they asked in unison.

Hunny sat up a little, nodding, "This is Natsumi-chan. Natsu-chan, these are Hitachiin Kaoru and Hikaru."

"Actually," corrected the one on the left, "I'm Hikaru, he's Kaoru."

"Oops," Hunny apologized, "Sorry."

"At least they aren't trying to confuse you," came a voice.

Hunny jumped up suddenly, "Haru-chan!" He ran toward her and glomped her. "Haru-chan, Haru-chan! Did you miss me?"

Haruhi nodded, "It's been too long since I've seen you all."

"How is Tama-chan?" Hunny suddenly asked.

Haruhi narrowed her eyes, "How should I know?"

"Because he drove you here," said Kyouya, who had entered behind her, Renge at his side.

Haruhi turned to the shadow king, irked at him. "That doesn't mean anything. You came with Renge," she countered, thinking this would prove her point.

Kyouya nodded, "Yes. But after attending this wedding, we might be planning one of our own soon."

Mental sound effects: tires squealing. All of the hosts stared in shock at Kyouya's nonchalant way of saying, 'I'm also engaged.'

Behind Kyouya, there was a gasp, "Mother, how could you keep this from me?!"

Kyouya turned to meet the over-dramatic, tearstained face of Tamaki, who had just finished checking in. "We just discussed it this morning," Kyouya replied, "And besides, I do think I'm allowed to have a little privacy."

"That's more than you can say for the rest of us," Haruhi muttered, thinking back to Kyouya's earlier knowledge of her transportation.

Tamaki seemed to recover from Kyouya's 'betrayal' quickly, when he remembered why he was even at this hotel. "Ah, this must be the young lady," he said, gesturing toward Natsumi, who was awestruck by the strangeness of the group.

Hunny skipped happily back to his seat, "This is Natsumi-chan! That's Haruhi, Kyouya, Tamaki, and Renge." Hunny pointed to each person as he said their names, before gesturing to them all to sit down.

Haruhi sat in the vacant chair next to Hikaru, and Tamaki didn't miss a beat when stealing the seat on her other side. He dragged Kyouya with him (not that Kyouya had intended to sit anywhere else), and Renge sat next to Kyouya, putting only five empty chairs between her and Natsumi.

Every ex-host regarded Natsumi silently for a moment before anyone spoke. The silence was finally broken when Haruhi, not understanding that they were all supposed to be busy staring at Natsumi, asked where Natsumi was from.

Blushing, as usual, she answered that she was from the Kyoto area.

Tamaki perked up, "Have you seen the Golden Pavilion?"

Natsumi nodded, "Yes, but my personal favorite place in Kyoto is Fushimi Inari Shrine."

Tamaki talked enthusiastically about tourist locations that he had seen with Kyouya (who mostly recalled being forced to go), while Natsumi listened politely, and added her opinion in where it was asked for.

The hour they had together passed quickly, being mostly spent interrogating the little, auburn-haired bride-to-be, when other guests began to arrive. The first was an average-looking girl with mousy, undistinguished features. The second Natsumi noticed her coming, she leapt from her chair and was at the girl's side in record time.

"Momoe-chan!" she called out happily, suddenly thankful for some familiarity in her newly hectic life.

Momoe hugged Natsumi, "Natsumi-chan, I've missed you so much!" When they pulled away from each other, Momoe tilted her head discreetly toward the table. "So, which one?" she asked, blushing a little at the obvious fact that they were all good looking.

Natsumi grabbed her best friend's hand, "I'll introduce you." She pulled the girl to the table and sat her in the chair next to herself. "This," she gestured to Hunny, "Is Haninozuka Mitsukuni, my fiancé. And these are his friends, who I just met today."

Momoe bowed her head politely, "Nice to meet you Haninozuka-san."

Hunny shook his head at her, "Everyone calls me Hunny."

"Thank you, Hunny-kun," Momoe grinned.

"Mitsukuni-kun," Natsumi continued, "This is Takuro Momoe, my best friend since Junior High." She was glad to have her friend with her, perhaps now she'd be distracted from the tension.

* * *

Amelia followed her mother into the hotel, and waited quietly while she and Isaac checked in. She was surprised to have a keycard shoved toward her.

Isaac stared icily at her, "_You get your own room. I don't want you in the way, so don't come to me unless I tell you to._"

Amelia tilted her head in a single nod, before wandering toward the diner. 'In the way,' meant that he didn't want her interrupting if he happened to find himself an easy lay. She snorted to herself as she entered the diner, suddenly thinking back on her choice of clothing. She could have dressed a bit more casually for this place, but she consoled herself with knowing that she wasn't overdressed, at least. She wore something akin to business garb, except the skirt was longer and the outfit itself looked almost military. Her flaxen curls were pulled back into a bun, and topped off with a decorative comb.

Isaac came up behind her, "_Opal says that she isn't feeling well. She's going to her room for the evening._"

'_Perhaps to raid the mini bar_,' Amelia thought scornfully. As they found their party, Amelia noticed that there were six open spots: four between two women, and two between two men. It wasn't surprising that Isaac chose to sit with the men, being the misogynist that he was, and had her sit next to him.

One of the men at the table got up from his spot and bowed to her, pulling her chair out for her, "Your seat, _Mademoiselle_."

She sat gently, "_Merci beaucoup_." The helpful man went back to his spot (where the brunette next to him rolled her eyes), and Amelia surveyed who she would be dining with. To her right was her good-for-nothing fiancé, but to her left was a tall man (his legs were miles long), with pale skin, dark hair, and strong features.

"_Hello, Miss Willard-Jones,_" Natsumi greeted her quietly in Japanese-accented English, making sure to call her 'Willard-Jones', and not just 'Jones'. The Willard's were a proud family, and had been annoyed when they had only managed to have a daughter a few generations back.

"Konnichi wa, Natsumi-san," Amelia replied just as quietly, in English-accented Japanese. While Natsumi's quietness was due to her bashfulness, Amelia's quietness came from her inferiority complex, which seemed to make her think that her accent was worse than it really was. A cough-like hint from her right reminded her that she had to acquaint her fiancé with the girl. "Natsumi-san, this is Isaac Beresford, my fiancé," she explained obligatorily, dying a little inside every time she called him that. Maybe now he'd leave her alone for the rest of the week.

It was now nearing 1:30, and everyone had arrived except for the guests that Natsumi had secretly been the most excited about meeting.

Everyone had their food ordered and were conversing while they waited for it. Hunny mostly spoke to Momoe, getting to know her better, while Tamaki continued to ask Natsumi about her favorite things that she had seen while in Tokyo. Renge and the twins pestered Haruhi, who was altogether too hungry to care much, and Kyouya spoke to Isaac—mostly in English—making mental notes of facts that were interesting.

Amelia mostly felt bored that she didn't have anyone to talk to, but it wasn't like she could just insert herself into a conversation; especially not a Japanese one. The man next to her hadn't said a word the whole time she had been there, and she wondered if he could talk at all. She decided to find out, "Hello, I'm Amelia."

He turned and looked her in the eye, contemplating her for a minute. In his silence, Amelia had been afraid that either he couldn't talk, or she had pronounced something wrong. Eventually, though, he said, "I'm Mori."

When someone new entered the room, everyone turned to look at the stranger. "Sorry we're late. My sisters wanted to look around for a while, and we sort of got lost," he apologized. There was bickering from behind him, and two more people entered the room.

The silence that followed when these newcomers' eyes met with the Hitachiins' only lasted for a stunned minute, before Hikaru jumped up and pointed at one of the girls, who took on a similar stance at him.

"**YOU**!" they shouted in unison.


	3. Chapter 3

**Dearest Starling**

**Chapter Three**

Natsumi entered the room that she was sharing with her mother, to find her aforementioned mother leaning intently over the table in the dining area. "Okaa-san?" she asked, causing the older woman to look up.

"Natsumi-chan! How was your day?" asked Makuno, going back to the task that lay on the table.

Natsumi approached her silently, until she had a clear view of the puzzle that her mother was working on. "It was nice," she finally answered, curiosity sated for the moment, "Momoe-chan is here now, and I met Mitsukuni-kun's friends from high school."

Makuno turned to smile warmly at her daughter, "I'm so proud of you."

Natsumi blushed, "But… I didn't do anything."

Shaking her head, Makuno took Natsumi's hand. "I know this isn't what you had planned when you thought about your wedding as a child, and I want you to know how proud I am that you're making the best of it."

"You're only doing what's best for me, Kaa-san, and I'm not at all unhappy with a Miai." Natsumi gave her mother's hand a reassuring squeeze, before linking a few pieces of jigsaw in place and excusing herself to her room.

* * *

"I can't believe her! She thinks she can just show up here?"

Kaoru watched his rampaging brother pace angrily from the bed. "She _was_ invited…" he reasoned.

"Oh, _invited_. That makes her more tolerable," Hikaru muttered sarcastically, "And what's worse, she's only seven rooms down the hall!"

Kaoru sighed, "Well, at least you won't have to talk to her. They'll be at the reception, but we can just avoid them." Kaoru's phone beeped in his pocket, and he pulled it out to look at the screen, "Can I borrow your charger?"

Hikaru went to his bags and began to rummage through the contents of one. His head suddenly snapped up and he held a rectangular, plastic device in his hand. "What is this?" he asked, once again ready to throw a fit.

Kaoru fell back on the bed, this was going to be a long week.

Izumi grunted, digging through her cargo pant pockets. "This is so weird," she said, "I had it before we got on the plane, I remember."

"Did you use it on the plane?" her look-alike offered helpfully.

Izumi paused, "I don't know. I think I mostly just argued with Nii-san."

"Maybe you left it at the airport?" Minori suggested, slipping her shoes off and watching her sister mourn her DS.

"He was a good game, batteries included and all…"

Minori rolled her eyes, "If it means that much to you, why don't you go back to the places we visited and look around for it, then you can call the airport and ask if they have it."

Izumi jumped up, "Great idea! I'll be back in a few hours." As she closed the door, she called back, "And not a word of this to Nii-san. He wouldn't let me live it down."

* * *

Renge poked her new fiancé's side, causing a vein to show on his forehead. "Kyouya-kuuuuuuun," she whined.

_Honestly, _he thought, _is she __**trying**__ to irritate me?_ Regardless, he didn't look up from his computer, where he was typing notes and making mini-profiles for the new people he had met.

She set her mouth in a tight frown, "Why won't you talk to me?" His fingers stilled for a moment, but he didn't remove his eyes from the screen. "Are you ignoring me?" she finally asked, resting her head on the desk next to his trademark pineapple laptop.

"I'm not ignoring you," he replied coolly, "If you have something to say to me, just say it." He was glad that she didn't act this way toward him in public, but he'd have liked it better if she wasn't this way _at all_.

She studied his face, he looked angry. She was mostly just bored, but she couldn't really say that now. Instead, she stood and went to change her clothes; when she emerged from her room, she simply stated that she was going to find Haruhi before leaving.

He sighed crabbily. _I suppose she expects me to care. Just so long as she eventually comes back,_ he thought with a snort.

* * *

"Come on, Hikaru. Just knock on the door and give her the game, and then we can go."

Hikaru stared at the brass numbers on the door in front of him like they would attack at any minute.

"Hikaru—!"

"You do it!" Hikaru hissed, thrusting the electronic game into Kaoru's hands. Hikaru then shoved his hands into his pockets and sulked on the other side of the hall.

Giving up, Kaoru turned back to the heavy wood door and tapped three times. When the door opened, one of the female twins (the one with darker eyes) greeted them.

"Oh, hello," Minori said, surprised.

Kaoru held the videogame for her to see. "Is your sister here?" he asked.

"Oh, no, actually. She's out… looking for that," Minori couldn't help but laugh at Izumi's bad luck.

Kaoru gave her a friendly smile. "Well, Hikaru," Kaoru motioned toward his twin, "accidentally picked it up after 'the incident'."

Hikaru watched them interact, feigning disinterest. They both had refined manners and held polite conversation easily, and she was pretty, so no problems there. In fact, as Hikaru examined them, he noticed that they looked almost perfect together.

Taking the game from Kaoru, Minori said, "Izumi will be happy to have it back." She glanced briefly at Hikaru before looking back at Kaoru, "I also just want to apologize for 'the incident'. Izumi was out of line getting angry about it, but I think she was just trying not to be embarrassed."

"Thank you," said Kaoru, glancing back at Hikaru.

"I'm sure it doesn't mean as much, coming from a secondary source," she continued, "But she is sorry. She just doesn't know how to say it. I don't think she's ever apologized for anything in her life, and the chances of it ever happening are pretty nil."

Kaoru nodded, "I know what you mean." He was, of course, referring to Hikaru's stubborn attitude.

"Well," she said, "It was nice meeting you Hikaru and…?"

"Kaoru. I don't think I know your name, either."

Minori laughed, "That's pretty rare for us. I'm Minori and my sister is-"

"Izumi, right?" Kaoru guessed, having heard the other girl mentioned a few times already.

"Yep, that's her. I'll see you two around."

Kaoru nodded politely, "Goodbye."

He turned and walked away with Hikaru, "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Whatever," he responded, still pouting. After a minute of piecing things together he asked, "Did you think she was pretty?"

"Who? Minori? Yeah, I guess she was attractive." Kaoru answered, thinking it was strange that Hikaru would even care.

Hikaru didn't say anything after that, instead going into his own thoughts. He'd have to, much to his dismay, go talk to that Izumi creature.

* * *

Haruhi had just stepped out of the shower and gotten dressed when she heard a knock on the door of her suite. She was mildly surprised to find Renge on the other side, considering she had been expecting Tamaki or the twins there to bother her. Ever since the truth about Haruhi's gender had come out, Renge had considered her to be a very close friend. Admittedly, it had taken Renge some time to adapt to the idea that her crush was actually female, but she had bounced back with a bubbly poise that seemed trademark to Renge. _Come to think of it,_ thought Haruhi, _I'm not surprised Kyouya-senpai decided to marry her._

Renge asked, "Haruhi-chan, do you have plans for today?"

"I was hoping to get to the pool later," replied Haruhi, "But other than that, no. Did you have something in mind, Renge-chan?"

Renge smiled and leaned in like it was a secret, "I was thinking that we should go shopping, just us girls. We're not very far from some very nice boutiques, I thought you could maybe help me round up the other girls," Renge leaned back, then, going up on her toes for a minute, "_Especially_ Natusmi-chan."

Besides the engagement to Hunny, Haruhi couldn't fathom why everyone was so engrossed with the poor girl—for anyone who had managed to draw so much attention from the (former) host club was decidedly unfortunate, in Haruhi's opinion. Having nothing else to do, though, Haruhi agreed to go along.

After inviting Natsumi and Momoe (this was mostly done by Renge), the newly formed group of girls split up to ask the Shigemiwa twins and the English girl to come along, as well, and decided that they would all meet in the lobby in ten minutes.

* * *

Amelia was lonely, but she wasn't alone. She was never _alone_, because that would mean she'd have time to think for herself. Instead, she had "friends" that were hired by Isaac to keep an eye on her. These friends had guns, but she was most certain that they weren't only for her protection.

She had been right about her mother raiding the mini bar. They had only arrived yesterday, and her mother was already suffering the bottle flu. Isaac had long since wandered off to who-knows-where, leaving Amelia lonely, but not alone (as we have already determined)—not that his presence ever made her feel less lonely. She rubbed a bruised patch of skin at her elbow, thankful that the early spring weather still permitted long sleeves.

There was a knock at the door, and when Amelia opened it—two guns discreetly pointed toward it from behind her—one of the other guests stood waiting.

"Hello," she said, "You probably don't know me. I'm Renge. Anyway, us girls who aren't already busy are taking Natsumi-chan out shopping for her wedding night." There was a suggestive wink at the words 'wedding night' that Amelia ignored. Her initial instinct was to shake her head and slam the door, but that would mean going back into the room of armed men. The lesser of two evils was obvious, and Amelia quickly agreed that she'd also come along.

The girls who had nothing else to do ended up being Renge, Momoe, Haruhi, and Minori, as they had all introduced themselves to her. They spent the morning in boutiques, buying clothing that Haruhi kept saying was 'too expensive', until around noon, when they chose a little café to have lunch at.

"And she was covered in frosting!" Renge finished with a giggle, telling Minori about her dog.

Minori laughed, "I wish I had a dog, but I travel too much."

Natsumi had come to like these girls. She had always assumed that she would like Minori and Izumi, but she never guessed that they were so… _normal_. Mitsukuni's friends were also really fun: Haruhi's dry sense of humor being wonderfully entertaining, and Renge's dramatic outbursts added a touch of silliness. It was due to Momoe's presence that Natsumi wasn't acting as shyly as usual with her new friends, though, which also added to the fun they were having.

"I forgot to ask," Natsumi said to Minori, "Where is Izumi-san?"

Minori stopped stirring her tea, "She was going to come, but then she suddenly said that something came up. I didn't ask what, though. Things are a lot easier when you just don't question her."

* * *

Hikaru approached the suite that Korota was sharing and knocked on the door. After a minute of yelling inside, the brother answered, looking like he had just gotten up.

"I need to talk to your sister," Hikaru said.

Komugi glared, annoyed, "Which one?"

Hikaru groaned inwardly, not wanting to say her name for some reason. "Izumi," he finally whispered.

Komugi turned, just as she was walking by behind him, "Tell Izumi, it's for her."

Izumi stopped, glowering for a moment before she snapped, "I **am** Izumi!"

He blinked at her, "Are you wearing… makeup?"

"Minori made me do it."

Komugi only laughed at her, walking away.

She took his place on the other side of the doorframe. "Well?" she asked.

"I need to talk to you about something," Hikaru muttered, "Do you have a minute?"

She seemed skeptical, "Yeah, I'll just tell Minori-"

"No! I mean, it's kind of a secret."

"Oh… Okay," she said, confused, "I'll be out in a minute."

Neither of them said anything as they left the hotel. It wasn't until they had crossed the street and entered a park that Izumi turned to Hikaru. "Now what's so damn important that you had to drag me out all of a sudden?" she asked testily.

"Don't take this the wrong way," Hikaru hummed, not sure how to put it, "Does Minori have a boyfriend?"

Izumi's head snapped toward him with such force that it was a wonder she didn't give herself whiplash. "Please!" she spat, "Like I'd ever allow a jerk like you anywhere near Minori."

"Not me! I was talking about Kaoru," Hikaru explained, "I don't know, but I think they were flirting yesterday."

Izumi snorted, "Minori flirts with everyone; it never leads to anything."

"Have you seen the way they talk to each other? They're almost exactly the same."

"Well I hardly know either of you," Izumi said stubbornly, "And I'm not about to let Minori out with someone who I don't know if I can trust."

"Would it help if you met him?" Hikaru asked, trying not to sound hopeful.

Izumi scratched the back of her head, "What's got you playing cupid, anyway? Is that the norm in your family or something?"

"Not really," Hikaru admitted, "But Kaoru did it for me once, and I've been wanting to pay him back for it, even though it didn't work out."

"She noticed what a jerk you were, huh?"

Hikaru couldn't even muster a glare, "Some other idiot got to her first. That's fine, as long as he takes care of her."

"What are you talking about?"

He shook his head, "Oh, nothing. So do you want to meet him, or not? I think things would be better if I had your help."

Izumi sighed, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but here goes nothing… Minori and I will meet you and Kaoru for dinner at six. If I decide that I think he's okay, we can go ahead and try to get them alone for a little while."

Hikaru nodded, "Okay." Then he turned to walk back to the hotel, calling back, "Oh, and just so you know, I still don't like you."

"Ditto."

* * *

Hunny bounced happily beside Mori. "I hope that there's plenty of room in the pool, ne, Takashi?"

"Yeah," and a nod was all he got in response. The two continued to the hotel's pool in companionable silence, broken only every now and then by Hunny making an observation or reminding Mori of his promise of cake. They entered the pool room, which was fairly empty, much to Hunny's pleasure. The more the little blond could splash, the happier he was.

The two cousins spent an hour and a half in the pool before Hunny decided he was hungry and ran off to order room service. Mori changed his clothes and headed toward the gym. It had been too long since he had last practiced, and he couldn't afford to lose his form.

* * *

The girls all came back around three, separating in the lobby to do whatever it was they would do on their own. Minori's first priority was finding Izumi and trying to get some information out of her, and Natsumi had to check in with her mother. Amelia, who also should have also checked in, decided that she would rather take a look around than go back to the confines of her room. There was something for everyone in this hotel, Amelia decided, after seeing the pool, office area, and even a music room. Continuing her tour, she also found a fitness center.

In a far corner of the room, there was a middle-aged businessman listening to headphones on a treadmill. When she turned her head the other way, there was only one other person, and the sight of him made her gasp. The quiet man, Mori, from the day before, was doing some kind of a fight routine on a mat… Shirtless. She watched him move, never knowing that any person could look so impressively strong.

Not long into his workout, he felt like someone was watching him, and a quick scan of the room told him that there was, in fact someone watching him. The woman from lunch the day before stood in the doorway, her eyes scanning his body. Not that her reaction was any different from most other females; he doubted she even realized she was doing it. When he met her gaze, she got fidgety, but also had an air of composure around her, which was something of an oxymoron.

Even as she stood silent, contemplating making her escape, her eyes held a fire that made him wonder if she _had_ noticed her own poorly-concealed staring. She wanted to run, but like a deer in headlights, she found herself frozen. Plus, running would only mean explaining _why_ she ran at a later date. She took a deep breath and smiled calmly, "Hello again, Mori-san."

He stayed quiet, and only nodded to indicate that he had heard her.

He didn't look like he was accusing her of anything, but she figured that she should vindicate herself anyway. "I wasn't trying to spy on you. I didn't even know you were here." She slapped herself mentally; how guilty could she sound?

One corner of his mouth twitched in amusement before he nodded, "Ah."

She was quiet, trying to think of something to say. She wasn't used to leading conversations. It wasn't Mori's usual modus operandi, but he found himself giving the girl a topic, just to keep her there. He honestly couldn't have said why. She was pretty, well-bred, much like every girl he went to school with; perhaps it was her slight accent, which was similar to Tamaki's or Renge's, picked up from so many years abroad.

"Do you like Japan?" he asked.

She was a little shocked, but still happy for the chance to talk to him. "I'll admit, this is my first time and I haven't seen much, but what I have is very impressive." There was silence again, meaning that Amelia wouldn't be saved this time. "Have you been to England?" she finally asked.

He nodded, "London. Once."

"I lived very close to London until recently, when I… Until recently," she finished, hoping he'd ignore that last bit.

She trailed off from the last half of her thought, but offered no more information on the subject. Mori looked at her questioningly, but he wasn't one to pry. He moved toward the towel rack, and began to dry the sweat from his body.

She could now smell him from this distance, and while she would admit that he needed a shower, she couldn't help but enjoy his scent. He smelled like work and spice and masculinity—the exact opposite of Isaac, who smelled like new car and expensive cologne. She only realized that she had been lost in thought when he turned back toward her, expecting her to say something. "I should be going," she said simply, turning on her heel to walk out.

"Goodnight," Mori felt the farewell escape his lips before he really had time to notice it, draping the towel around his shoulders.

If she noticed him watching her leave, she didn't say anything about it. Once she had scurried away, he stretched his back a little and went to shower so that he could go hunt down Mitsukuni.

* * *

Natsumi was walking back to her room, shopping bag in hand. Momoe had been in a big hurry to follow Shigemiwa Komugi like the fan girl she was, and hadn't even said goodbye. Natsumi sighed dejectedly, some BFF she was…

"Natsu-chan!"

She turned to the source of her name, "Oh, Mitsukuni-kun. Hi." She blushed as he ran up to her, bunny in hand.

"Natsu-chan, I heard you were shopping with Haru-chan. Did you have fun?" he asked, giddy as ever. She blamed the sugar.

Natsumi nodded, still blushing red, "Yes, and I even got you a slice of cake at this café that we went to…" She reached into a bag and pulled out a plastic take-out container, offering it to him.

Mitsukuni took it happily, stars shining in his eyes, "Thank you, Natsu-chan!" Then something caught his attention, "Natsu-chan, what's that?"

"Hm? What's what?"

He pointed with is free hand to her new necklace, "That."

"Oh, this?" she smiled, holding it up for him to see, "It reminded me of Usa-chan, so I got it." The opalescent bunny dangled from its delicate gold chain, reflecting the light that touched it magically. "It also reminded me of you," she admitted quietly. After spending nearly every waking minute with him, as well as her initial opinion of him being adorable, she had developed a liking for him. She probably would have said that she had a crush on him if their current circumstances had been a bit different.

"It's so pretty," he mumbled, almost mesmerized by the little pendant. Remembering his cake, he took her hand, "We'll take your bags to your room, and then we can eat this together. Takashi is busy right now, so I'm really glad you're back. Usa-chan and I were getting lonely."

Natsumi's face got even hotter, as he pulled her along the corridor, chatting like there was nothing in the world that could bother him.

In the room that he was sharing with his little brother—who Natsumi had only met on a few occasion, and found out that they had a tendency to go into battle every time they saw each other—Mitsukuni sat her on one side of a pretty little table, and took a seat across from her. He didn't waste a second before he began digging in.

Natsumi sat, fork in hand, staring at him in wonder. After a few minutes, when he noticed that she wasn't eating any, he scooped some onto his own fork and held it in front of her. This only caused a bewildered look to cross her face, as she glanced between the fork and him, clearly panicked. _I can't eat off his fork; that's like __**kissing**__ him_, her mind screamed at her.

"What's wrong, Natsu-chan?" he finally asked, teasing her a little. While he might not have acted like it, he understood just as much about the opposite gender as everyone else.

She continued to panic, heart racing like she was running for her life. Was it her, or was he getting closer?

There was only one way to remedy her timidity, he decided, tilting his head closer to her. If he was going to marry this girl, he had to get used to the idea of being intimate with her… Or maybe he was just a pervert, he really couldn't decide.

When he pressed his mouth against hers, she was sure that she would die of heart failure. She imagined that this must have looked silly, his small frame leaning over the table. But not far enough, she noticed. Had she subconsciously moved toward him, too, she wondered. How embarrassing!

Neither of them used any tongue, but he did suckle her lower lip in such a way that made her tingle all the way down to her toes, and at the same time wonder how often he practiced this kind of thing. He pulled away after a minute, giving her a wolfish grin that seemed out of place on his childlike features. He held his fork out to her again, offering her a bite.

"I-I can get it," she stammered, this time actually taking some with her own fork.

He only shrugged playfully and ate his himself. "Mmm, it's yummy!" he exclaimed, suddenly back to his usual self.

Natsumi wondered if he was a schizo.

* * *

Haruhi pulled on her bathing suit, preparing to go to the hotel's swimming pool. As she wandered through the sitting area, she gave an annoyed snort. Did anyone really need this much room to themselves? The suite must have been bigger than the apartment that she shared with her father.

Pulling a shoulder bag on and making sure that it had her keycard, she left her room. _Honestly_, she thought, how did someone as overly practical as she was end up with a group of people as unconventional at the host club?

She inwardly cringed as she walked by a vase.

* * *

Hunny, while looking happy-go-lucky and innocent the whole time, watched his fiancée eat dinner, a deep red blush covering her cheeks. She had been acting extra shy around him since a couple hours before, when he had kissed her for the first time. He wondered if it was wrong of him to play with her mind so, acting sweet one second, and then all but pushing her up against a wall, the next. There hadn't been much doubt in his mind that the girl was inexperienced, but her reaction to him had assured him that she truly was as childishly virtuous as he was pretending to be.

While he was, in fact, still a virgin, he was also a man, and puberty had ensured that his mind would not stay as pure as his body was. To his left, his parents spoke with Natsumi's mother about things that Hunny was bound to find boring, and to his right, Mori stayed silent as ever. Hunny's younger brother seemed to be extra anti-social ever since this wedding business had started up, which Hunny guessed had something to do with the boy knowing that _he_ was next.

He looked at Natsumi again, just in time to see her looking at him. Her face instantaneously got redder than he had ever seen it, and she was suddenly much more interested in her food than she had been a few minutes ago. Dinner ended not long after, and everyone began to make their way back to their suites. With a slight nod in apology to Mori, Hunny hurried to catch up with Natsumi, and slipped his hand over hers, entwining their fingers.

She jumped when she felt the contact, and looked at him with uncertainty. He only smiled back, and she eventually relaxed, even going so far as to smile a little to herself. Thinking back on the day—their first kiss, and now hand-holding—Hunny concluded that they were, indeed, making quite a lot of forward progress.


	4. Chapter 4

**Dearest Starling**

**Chapter Four**

Izumi tapped her foot impatiently. Minori didn't even know this was a date, and she was _still_ spending hours getting ready. It was a good thing that she had found Izumi the second she got back, or she wouldn't have had enough time to get ready. _Seriously_, thought Izumi, _who takes three hours to get ready, anyway?_

Minori came out then, wearing a pink dress that went to her knees and her hair in a ponytail. "How do I look?" she asked.

Izumi glared at her sister, "Fine. Let's get going, already!"

"Is that what you're wearing?" Minori asked, indicating Izumi's rolled up jeans and button-down shirt with a black vest.

"What? Something wrong with it?"

Minori shrugged, "I guess not. It's just weird to wear something like that on a first date, don't you think?"

Izumi snorted, throwing Minori's purse at her, "It's not a date, and if it was, I still wouldn't dress better than this for that jerk!" Izumi had to remind herself that she was going with _Hikaru_, so that Minori and Kaoru would have no choice but to treat it like a double date.

It took a few minutes to get to the lobby, but when they got there, both Hitachiin brothers were already waiting. They exchanged greetings, and then went about trying to decide what to eat.

"There are tons of restaurants here, and you can't think of _anything_ you want?!" Hikaru snapped impatiently at Izumi.

"I don't like expensive food. You got a problem with that?" Izumi could honestly say that she wanted to set him on fire.

"Well, I—!"

"I like McDonald's!" Minori interrupted randomly.

When nobody said anything, Minori began to wonder if she said something stupid.

"Commoner food?" Hikaru asked, intrigued.

Minori blinked at him, "What?"

Izumi, on the other hand, got angry, "Yeah. So? Got a problem with that, too, I suppose?!"

Minori put her head in her hands. How come every time they went anywhere, Izumi had to make people stare at them?

* * *

Tamaki sat with his best friend for the first time since they had arrived at the hotel. "Are you going to tell me more about this 'Renge' thing?" he asked.

Kyouya shrugged, "There's nothing to tell. She said that she wanted to get married, I agreed to it, we got engaged. It's profitable for both of us, so I see nothing wrong with it."

Tamaki gasped indignantly, "_Profitable?_ What do you mean, _profitable?_ Without love, there is everything wrong with marriage!"

Kyouya ignored his dramatic friend, as said friend continued to rant about the joys of passionate matrimony, and other such nonsense. Passionate matrimony did not get you ahead in life.

"And furthermore, I cannot allow such a fate…"

Kyouya wished he had brought his laptop. His laptop! He suddenly remembered a few things that he wanted to talk to Tamaki about.

"I did some research," Kyouya cut Tamaki off mid-rant, "And I think you'll want to know what I came up with. My first search was Hoshiyama Natsumi. Apparently she attended one of Ouran's sister schools, and graduated eighth in her class, which was Class B. She has no important bloodline, and all of the money that she is to inherit was earned off of stocks. Her mother sold all of them just before a crash, and it gave them enough money to live comfortably off of interest alone. They also have a number of shares in Microsoft."

Tamaki nodded, "Is that it?"

"If you're asking about dirt, the only thing that is odd about her is that she was adopted. Beyond that, she's completely clean.

"My next search was on Isaac Beresford. Nothing unusual about his money, just a family business that expanded and is now doing very well for itself. He is, apparently, very difficult to work with, which I experienced firsthand when I spoke to him yesterday. He hasn't been convicted of any crimes, but there are a disturbing number of accusations of rape and other abusive acts.

"His fiancée, Amelia Willard-Jones, is also unremarkable in inheritance, but has quite a history. I found several articles about few different suicide attempts. She's also diagnosed with Cyclothymic Disorder and Narcissistic Personality Disorder."

Tamaki looked puzzled, to say the least.

Kyouya sighed, "She has mood swings and likes attention." _'Not too different from yourself_,' was the silent add-on to the sentence.

"Oh."

"The Shigemiwa family," Kyouya continued, "Is a band called, Kokoro Uta, originating in America. They're first appearance, though, was on a Japanese children's television show, where the twins played the main character's singing, dancing friends. The show ended a year later, and they disappeared for a few years, until a record company signed them. They've made top ten in America with four different songs throughout the years, top twenty in Japan with nine songs, and top five in Germany with two songs. They have three albums out, and another due in mid-December. They've also acted in a couple of cliché twin movies."

"I've never heard of them," Tamaki admitted.

"Their most popular song in Japan was titled, _'Paint Without Color'_."

Tamaki nodded, "Oh, I guess I have heard of them."

Kyouya nodded, "Chances are you wouldn't know the others without listening to commoners' 'rock stations'."

"Haruhi doesn't like 'rock'."

Kyouya smirked, "Interesting that you know that. Does _she_ know that you know that?"

"She might. She must!" Tamaki sighed, "We're not talking about music anymore, are we?"

"We never really were."

Tamaki looked almost admiringly at Kyouya. He always knew how to control a conversation. "She knows, she just doesn't seem to care. It's like no matter what approach I take, she still thinks I'm ridiculous."

"Perhaps the direct approach is the only way to get through to her?" Kyouya suggested.

Tamaki nodded thoughtfully, "Did that work for you?"

"What?"

"With Renge-kun. How did you make her want to marry you?"

Folding his hands in his lap, Kyouya repeated, "It was a mutually beneficial business transaction."

Tamaki stood, doubtful. "Renge wouldn't do that. She's a romantic, so there must have been something you did to make her love you."

"I didn't do anything. It was Miyabi that made her come after me."

"No. We've established that she's aware of your oppositeness to Miyabi. You must have done _something_."

Kyouya looked to the floor, annoyed, "She knows that I don't care about her."

"Then I am sorry for her," Tamaki said, finality in his voice.

* * *

Amelia ate breakfast with Isaac. It wasn't unusual for them not to speak to each other, but it was unusual that Isaac would watch her so intently throughout a meal, or any other time for that matter.

"_Where were you?_" he finally asked.

Amelia continued to spread jam on a biscuit, "_I don't know what you're talking about._"

"_When all of the other women came back,_" his voice got louder as he spoke, "_and you didn't come back for almost __**two hours**__ after that! Where were you?!_" Getting angrier, he reached across the table and grabbed her wrist painfully tight, "_And look at me when I'm talking to you!_"

"_I was just looking around. I didn't do anything wrong,_" she defended.

He only tightened his grip, "_Who were you with?_"

"_I wasn't with anyone._"

"_Don't think that I don't have eyes over every inch of this hotel, Amelia! I __**know **__that you were with him,_" he spat, "_You're a slut!_"

Amelia shook her head, "_Surely, I'm no worse than you._" The thought hadn't even registered in her mind before she said it, and she didn't have time to regret it before his hand made sharp contact with her face and a stinging sensation took over.

Isaac stood, turning to leave, "_I will not marry someone who can't follow basic instruction. When I say that I want you supervised at all times, I mean it._"

Amelia shuddered, hating him for hurting her, and hating herself more for allowing it.

* * *

"I can't believe that we had to go to _three_ restaurants just to get what each of us wanted…"

Minori smiled across the table at Hikaru, "Carryout picnics are always nice, though. This is a lovely park. I'm glad we got to come. Right, Izumi?"

Izumi looked at her sister quizzically, she couldn't _possibly_ know, could she? "Yeah. This is lovely," she finally said, sarcastically.

"Let's look at the fountain when we're done eating," Minori said, finishing her meal.

It was quiet for a minute, then Kaoru looked at Izumi, "I didn't quite catch how you knew the bride."

"We don't. We're the entertainment," Izumi clarified, "She's our biggest fan, apparently."

Minori laughed, "She must be, we've never been hired for a wedding before."

"Hikaru and I were looking forward to designing her wedding dress, but it turns out they're having a traditional Japanese wedding," Kaoru said between bites.

"Really? I've never seen a Japanese wedding before," muttered Izumi, mid-bite. She was quite the slob sometimes.

"Aren't _you_ Japanese?"

Minori answered before her sister could talk with her mouth full again. "Half. But we were born and raised in the U.S., so Izumi and I can't even figure out honorifics most of the time."

"So where we're a little ignorant," Izumi added, pointing to Hikaru, "You're just rude."

Kaoru interrupted before another fight could start, "If we're all finished, we should go look at that fountain before it gets cold and dark."

Squabble neutralized, they all made their way toward the round water feature. Along the way, Kaoru pulled Izumi aside, much to hers and Hikaru's dismay. He was _supposed_ to want to walk with Minori.

Minori, in turn, didn't seem to notice when Kaoru began to whisper to Izumi.

"I hope you don't feel too strongly about Hikaru, because I'm wondering if Minori would be better suited for him," Kaoru whispered.

Izumi paled, _Dammit!_

"I'm wondering if you'll help me set them up?" he asked quietly.

She didn't have time to think about it, all she could do was agree and then work something out later. "Sure…" she mumbled hesitantly.

Kaoru put a hand on her shoulder, "I hope you don't feel cheated."

"I don't feel cheated at all," she said truthfully, she wouldn't be able to say the same for Hikaru, though.

* * *

Momoe sat in the middle of Natsumi's room, painting her toenails. It was just like when they were in middle school, with the smell of hairspray and nail polish, and the music just a little too loud. Momoe grinned up at her best friend, who was sitting on her bed, telling her _all about_ what had happened the day before. "So," said Momoe once Natsumi had finished ranting, "You're freaking out because the guy that you're going to _marry_ kissed you?"

Natsumi blinked, "Well, when you say it like _that_…"

"Look, I don't know much about boys," Momoe stood and looked at her toes absently, "But it seems to me that you should be happy that he _wanted_ to kiss you." Natsumi nodded tentatively, obviously still going over what her friend had said in her head. "Moving on," said Momoe suddenly, causing Natsumi to look up at her, "Do you like him?"

Blushing like mad, Natsumi smiled, "Very much." She stood up to look the other girl in the eye, wearing the most blissful expression Momoe had ever seen on her. "He's sweet, and cute, and he's the only boy that I'm not afraid of," Natsumi described him, counting off his qualities on her fingers, "And he always tells me how cute I look, even when I _know_ it isn't true, and he actually cares what I think."

Momoe hugged her suddenly, cutting her off in the middle of her list. "I'm so happy for you, Natsumi-chan," she whispered, holding on a little tighter.

Hugging back, Natsumi fought the urge to cry. There was a reason that they were best friends, and this was one of them.

* * *

The plan was this: Izumi would pickpocket Minori's phone and 'accidentally' leave it somewhere where Kaoru and Hikaru would find it. Kaoru would then 'find' the phone and insist that they wait until the next morning to return it. Then Kaoru would get up before Hikaru's alarm went off and leave a note telling Hikaru to return the phone. At the same time, Izumi would leave to go 'look' for the phone, leaving Minori alone when Hikaru returned it. There was absolutely _no way_ this could go wrong…

Hikaru awoke to the sound of the alarm, like usual, but was surprised when Kaoru wasn't anywhere to be seen. Maybe he went to get some breakfast, Hikaru guessed, picking up his phone to call Kaoru and ask where he was. When he got the voicemail before it even rang, he grumbled. "Why don't you ever charge your phone, Kaoru?"

After stumbling around confusedly for a few minutes, Hikaru found a note written by his brother:

"Tono needed help. Be back soon. Return the phone while I'm gone."

Hikaru grumbled some more, pulling on some clothes before heading down the hall to Minori and Izumi's room.

Earlier that morning:

"I think I'm turning into you, 'Zumi. I never lose things…" Minori currently had her head under the bed, looking for her missing cell phone.

After halfheartedly looking for a few minutes, Izumi suggested, "Why don't I run out and look for it in the lobby?"

Minori sat up, "**And** you came up with a solution to a problem, too?! Man, we must be screwed up. I'll come with you and help look…"

"No," said Izumi, "It will take you three days to get ready, and then we will have wasted all that time, so I'll go, and you can keep looking here."

"Alright, but if it takes you too long, I'll have to come look for you _and_ the phone."

"Ha, ha. Whatever." Izumi left, then, and made her way to the lobby, where Kaoru was waiting.

"Everything going smoothly?" he asked.

"On this side. You guys?"

Kaoru nodded, "According to plan. As far as I know, anyway."

"Well," said Izumi, "Let's hope that Hikaru doesn't sleep in today."

* * *

Amelia stepped out onto her balcony and took a deep breath of the cool air surrounding her. Tokyo didn't look quite as amazing during the day as it did at night, but it was still a notable view. She absently caressed her bruised cheek, which by now she had layered with _at least_ an inch of makeup, and flinched at the throbbing sensation that came with the contact. She glanced over her shoulder; behind her, there were four men in the suite, all perfectly-trained to stand unblinkingly in each corner of the room. Looking back down at the street below, she contemplated jumping over the railing. It wouldn't be a _horrible_ death. At this height, she'd probably die on impact. She grunted at how crazy her internal voice was sounding, but was distracted by a balcony a few rooms over. It was fairly far away, but there was no doubt about who was sitting there, looking out over the city. _It must be a crime to be that gorgeous,_ thought Amelia, trying to make herself as unnoticeable as possible.

Why is it that you can wave your arms around and not be seen, but the second you don't want someone to notice you, they do?

He turned toward her and held her gaze for a good minute before she found her voice. "Ohayo gozaimasu, Mori-san," she said, trying to keep her "guards" from hearing, while remaining loud enough for him. He only gave a nod in response, causing the blonde woman to become annoyed. _Why do I even bother?_

Mori watched her, as exasperation flickered across her face before the businesswoman in her took over and she smiled calmly again. She made a comment on the weather; he _really_ liked her voice.

"Mori-san, should I assume that you dislike conversing with me," she asked, disguising the seriousness of the question with a teasing tone, "Or are you simply shy?" Behind her eyes was the true question, _Is there some reason that you don't like me?_

Mori turned back to the scenery of the city below, "I am not shy." From the corner of his eye, he could see her flinch slightly, "But that does not mean that I can speak easily, unless I have something to say."

She turned then, too, looking out at the city. "I see," she murmured, relieved, "You and I have something in common."

Mori could see her watching the streets, her eyes following vehicles, out of his peripheral vision. They were quiet, apparently both comfortable saying nothing now that they understood that the silence was not meant to offend.

"Takashi," said a little yellow-haired blur, coming to stand beside the significantly taller man, "I'm ready to go, now!"

Mori nodded and then turned to Amelia to give her a slight bow, to which she nodded in return.

Hunny jumped up to peer over the railing at her, waving. "Have a nice day, Ami-chan!" He called, then jumped down and ran inside, leaving a twitching Amelia behind him.

'_Ami-chan?!'_ she thought, bewildered at the term of endearment.

Inside the room, Mori smiled to himself.

* * *

Minori heard a knock on the door, and temporarily gave up her search to answer it. She didn't expect Hikaru to be on the other side.

"Yo," he said, waving unenthusiastically.

"Yo," she repeated in the same bored tone, before she giggled at her own silliness.

Hikaru blinked at her, but stood up a little straighter. "I have orders to return this to you," he mumbled, placing the cellular phone in her hand.

"Oh, thank you! I was worried that I wouldn't find it!"

"It's no big deal," Hikaru insisted, feeling awkward that she would be so happy over a phone.

"Well, thank you, anyway." After a minute, she asked, "Hey, what do you think of Izumi and Kaoru as a couple?"

Hikaru's heart must have stopped, "Eh?"

"I think they were just too cute together the other night. Wouldn't that be great, them together?"

"Yeah…" he murmured, trying to find a way to backpedal out of this conversation.

"We should totally set them up on a date!"

"Minori, I… don't think…" Hikaru stopped when Tamaki came out of his room, down the hall. "Tono," he asked, "Where's Kaoru?"

Tamaki looked like he had missed the punch line of a joke, "I haven't seen him since yesterday."

Hikaru was annoyed once it had all finally clicked. Kaoru had _lied_ to him. _Lied! _To _him!_ There was only one thing for certain, he was going to answer for this, but first he had to talk to Izumi again.

Hikaru marched down to the lobby, Minori following him along the way, where he spotted Kaoru and Izumi talking in a corner. "I need to talk to you," he said, dragging her away from his twin, and leaving Minori in her place.

Once out of earshot, Minori whispered, "How's phase one of '_operation teach siblings a lesson about meddling in our love lives_' going?"

"I'd say it's complete," Kaoru answered. He and Minori watched them disappear around the corner, before Kaoru turned to Minori, "I wonder what they're talking about."

"Only one way to find out; come on."

* * *

Izumi yanked her hand away from Hikaru, "What is wrong with you?!"

"Stop flirting with Kaoru!"

"… What?"

Hikaru was getting impatient, "You're going to make them think that _you_ want to go out with Kaoru, and then _they_ won't date, and it will be all your fault. There's only one thing we can do, you need to kiss me in front of them."

Izumi glared at him, "Are you nuts?! I hate your guts, why the hell would I kiss you?!"

"This isn't about what you want," Hikaru snapped, before adding quietly, "It's not about what I want, either."

"What?" she asked.

He shook his head, "It doesn't matter. Never mind."

Izumi stared quizzically at him before an evil smirk crossed her features, "You like Minori, don't you?"

"**It doesn't matter**," he said, "They're so close to being together… They just don't know it yet."

Izumi sighed, "I don't see why you're pushing this so hard. If it hasn't happened on its own yet, maybe it just isn't going to happen." She was secretly hoping to get Hikaru to give up on his matchmaking scheme. She couldn't very well help _both_ twins in their opposing conquests. "Why are you trying to set them up if you're the one who wants Minori?"

"I came up with this idea before I liked her—before I realized she was nothing like _you_," he muttered. "You must agree that they'd go well together, or you wouldn't have gone along with this for so long…"

"Actually…"

Hikaru's attention snapped toward her, "What?"

"I'm not really sure that he's her 'type'. She likes…" Izumi put her head in her hands and sighed, "I was really hoping to get her off of the 'bad boys', though."

Hikaru laughed, "No way! Sweet, innocent Minori is…!"

"Yeah, whatever! Just shut up, will you?!"

"Wait a minute," Hikaru said thoughtfully, "If you knew that Kaoru wasn't her 'type', why'd you go along with this?"

"I already said, I was trying to get her to date someone who _wasn't_ a jerk, for once. Kaoru's nice, and smart, and…"

"Almost as hot as me?"

Izumi snorted, "Try _hotter_ than you, you idiot. I figured that if _I_ liked him, she could eventually, too. And he… Well, _everybody_ likes Minori."

"Do I sense some jealousy?" Hikaru teased.

Izumi glared at him, "Whatever, jerk. I'm leaving now, my sister is out in the world, unprotected." She turned to walk away.

"Did you say she liked bad boys?" Hikaru asked her retreating back.

She didn't even turn to him when she called over her shoulder, "Don't even think about it, asshole."

Kaoru and Minori, who had been listening in (and hadn't learned much that they didn't already know), hurried back to their previous place in the lobby before Izumi could catch them eavesdropping.

Before she approached, Minori asked, "Should we begin phase two?"

Kaoru smirked, whispering, "I don't think we'll _need_ phase two."


	5. Chapter 5

**Dearest Starling**

**Chapter Five**

Izumi rested her head on the table of one of the hotel's mini-offices. Minori, while better contained, was equally bored, as she had started to braid and unbraid her hair on the other side of the table. Sumire leaned back in her chair, having taken to finding a pattern in the blinking green light of the smoke detector above her.

Komugi glared over his shoulder at his three younger sisters after hearing Izumi sigh impatiently for the third time in the last minute. "_You guys could __**help**__, you know,_" he muttered in English, annoyed that the three of them were just sitting around. He was currently getting the makeup artist's design sketches faxed to him so he and his sisters could pick their favorites to wear for the wedding performance.

"_How much does it cost per fax, again?_" Izumi asked, resting her head in her palm and lazily regarding her fuming big brother.

"_It doesn't matter,_" he snapped, "_It's part of the job, so it's tax-deductible._"

Minori pouted, "_Why isn't Kevin here doing this?_"

"_Because he's a shitty manager,_" Izumi stated loudly, making a few people who could understand English look at her in surprise.

"Sorry, please excuse her," Minori apologized, waving her hands as if to erase what had just happened.

More quietly than Izumi had been, Komugi continued, "_Yeah, he is, but we have three months before our contract is up, so smile and sing pretty._" The fax machine began to buzz annoyingly, printing four pictures of faces with different colors smeared over the eyelids and lips.

"_Oh, I like this one,_" Minori said, instantly pointing to one with a green and pink color scheme.

"_No, this one,_" Sumire argued, holding up a yellow and blue combination.

Izumi rolled her eyes, "_We have to agree on one, so let's just… pick… I like this one._" Her complaint that it was taking too long suddenly died when she joined in the argument, now defending a mixture of purple and red.

Komugi resisted slamming his head against the table. Why couldn't he have had brothers? He looked at the fourth sample, which was obviously hideous, and smirked to himself, "_If you three can't decide on your own, we'll be using this one._" He held up the clown-gone-wrong makeup design for them all to see, and the fight came to a screeching halt.

"_The idiot's right,_" Izumi said finally, "_Let's look at this rationally. We all have brownish eyes, so yellow eyeshadow isn't going to work too well._"

Sumire's head fell in defeat, and Minori smiled, "_And we already know that pink is our best lip color._"

Izumi joined her baby sister in mourning another lost victory to Minori. Minori always did what Izumi said, except when it came to their clothes or cosmetics, then she suddenly became their mother. Komugi made a note of the one they chose and then began to shoo them out of the room. "_We have a fitting, now,_" he announced, hurrying his sisters along, "_Let's get going, or we'll be late._"

* * *

Natsumi had to take a deep breath to calm her nerves. Here she was, in front of _his_ door, terrified that approaching him was some kind of arranged-marriage-pre-wedding-taboo, or something. Gathering all of the valor she possessed in her whole body, she raised a shaking hand to his door and knocked timidly, face turning cherry-red. All bravery she had gathered was quickly diminishing as she waited for an answer. After a few seconds she put her head down, feeling ridiculous, and turned to walk away.

The door opened, then, and Natsumi jumped a foot in the air as she turned to look at the figure in the doorway, astonished that anyone had even heard her tiny knock.

"O-oh! Yasuchika-kun," she squeaked, "I-I didn't know you were here." _Lie._

He blinked at her, "Natsumi-san, this is my room, too. You know that…"

She laughed nervously, "Eh-heh. I… guess I forgot." _Lie. Lie._

Yasuchika raised an eyebrow confusedly. He asked, "You're looking for Mitsukuni-niisan, right?"

She looked at the floor, "I just needed to ask him a question… about African… clogdancing." _Lie. Lie. Lie. Lie. Lie. Lie._

His expression turned sardonic, "I'll go get him." He turned to walk away before he briefly looked back at her, "Oh, and just so you know, clogdancing is Dutch, not African."

She flushed in utter mortification, as she waited for the tell-tale signs that the Haninozuka brothers were 'conversing'. Sure enough, the loud bangs and crashes were heard not long after, and then, as if none of it had happened, Haninozuka Mitsukuni was standing before her, smiling enthusiastically.

"Natsu-chan! You wanted to ask me something?" he asked, bouncing in place, pink rabbit in hand.

She continued to stare at the floor, unable to meet his gaze, and hoping that he wouldn't laugh at her. "I just wanted to see if you wanted to do something together," she mumbled, wringing her hands, "J-just the t-two of us…?"

He stopped bouncing, surprised that she had taken the initiative to come to him, before his façade of undiluted cuteness was back in place and he sprang himself at her. "Okay, Natsu-chan! Let's go get cake," he shouted, hugging her childishly.

She paled at the memory of the last time they had shared cake. _Not again!_

* * *

"Ouch! Son of a bit-!"

"Izumi," Minori interrupted her sister before she let a stream of curse words lose upon the unfortunate intern, who was currently pinning her dress.

Izumi growled, "_Well, she's stabbed me, like, a hundred times!_"

Minori opened her mouth to retort, but then the studio doors opened, and in walked Dominique De Lorme, herself, or as Izumi so _lovingly_ referred to her, '_Matchstick woman_'.

"What is going on here?" Dominique asked in her thick French accent, "Why is this fitting taking so long? I have other clients that need to be attended to."

The intern stood to look her mentor in the eye, "I-I was just finishing up…"

"Good, good. Well, get back to it," she turned to Izumi then, "_What_ is that?"

Izumi looked at her hand, where she was currently holding a chocolate bar, "A candy bar…?"

"No, no, no!" the designer suddenly yelled, snatching the treat from Izumi's hand. "This will not do! Do you want to be able to wear this dress, or not?"

"What are you, my mother?" Izumi asked, raising an eyebrow.

Dominique stomped her foot, throwing the candy to the ground—barely missing the timid intern, who jumped away with a girlish shriek. "No, because if I _were_ your mother, I'd have your tongue cut out for your insolence!"

Izumi looked despondently down at her lost chocolate, "I read that chocolate can improve your mood." Her eye snapped up suddenly to look at the _witch_ in front of her, as she said pointedly, "I think _you_ needed that more than I did…"

Dominique raised a penciled eyebrow at the girl. "I suppose. It seems like you've had a few too many '_candy bars_', anyway," she replied snippily, before turning on her heel and walking away.

Izumi was very quiet for a moment, as the new data processed in her brain. "Did she just call me fat?_"_ She turned to her twin, "I'm gonna _kill_ that scrawny, old bat!"

* * *

Hikaru and Koaru sifted through their mother's designs, each occasionally holding one up to get the opinion of his brother, before hanging the gown back onto the rack. Haruhi had been easy to pick a dress for, though her figure would give a person trouble when dressing her for the first time, they had long since discovered what accented her body properly. Yes, Haruhi was, indeed, still quite flat. By the end of her second year, her breasts had filled out enough that she couldn't dress as a boy anymore, but even so, she still lacked curves.

But Haruhi wasn't the one that the twins couldn't find a dress for; it was actually Hoshiyama Natsumi, Hunny-Senpai's fiancée, who was the challenge. Like Haruhi, the girl was utterly curveless. Even worse, she was quite short, and most dresses—even on her petite frame—made her look fat.

Hikaru slumped down into a chair. "Kaoru, I don't think we're going to find anything," he said, tipping his head back and yawning.

With a nod, Kaoru agreed, "We're going to have to sew a custom dress for her." And with that, the two of them began a new quest, searching for the perfect fabric. Yes, Hoshiyama Natsumi was quite a challenge, indeed.

* * *

Haruhi opened her door and instantly felt dread wash over her, _Oh, no…_ There stood Kaoru and Hikaru, grins plastered on their faces, each holding a hanger with a dress on it.

"Hello, Haruhi!" they greeted in unison, clearly radiating their 'you're our toy' vibe, which was usually followed by the dreaded 'we're going to dress you up' vibe.

"Oh, hey, guys," she replied warily, "What's up?" They both blinked, also in perfect unison.

"Don't sound so unhappy to see us," Hikaru began.

"It'll make us think you don't love us anymore," finished Kaoru.

"You wouldn't want that, would you?" they asked together. Haruhi put a hand to her head, and chose to change the subject.

"Are those for the wedding?"

"This one," said Kaoru, holding his toward her, "Is for tonight."

"And this one," Hikaru held his out now, "Is for tomorrow."

Haruhi raised an eyebrow, "Why do I need a different dress for each one? It's not like I'll ever wear either of them again…"

They both shook their heads, "Haruhi, Haruhi, Haruhi. Have we taught you nothing?" She responded with a blank stare, which they ignored with practiced precision.

"Now," they pushed their way inside, thrusting the dresses into her hands as they went, "Try these on."

* * *

Opal Willard-Jones was a stony-faced woman, who rarely showed emotion unless she was drunk, when anger was her default setting. Her alcohol abuse was a well-kept secret among her family, where their philosophy was: '_Ignore it and it will go away_.'

Amelia watched her mother take another sip out of her teacup, which most probably had something _other than_ tea in it, and attempted to push back the utter disgust that she felt for the people sitting with her. Across from her, her mother continued to sip her "tea", while talking business with Amelia's fiancé, Isaac Beresford. Isaac was to her right, ignoring her, unless he was giving her his warning look when she started betraying how bored she was.

She wished her father had come along; not that she actually liked him, but it was nice to be around someone who was never fake—unlike her mother and her fiancé. Everything was a big show with them.

Isaac had been extra aggressive lately, and it probably had something to do with the suspicious amount of attention that she had been paying to one Morinozuka Takashi. She really couldn't help it, though. Her life had turned her into something of an escapist, and Mori was fascinating in an enigmatic sort of way, making him the perfect thing to occupy her mind. Her imagination never got far, as Isaac was sure to give her _firm_ reality checks on a regular basis.

Unlike Opal, Isaac never hit her when he was drunk, though. Instead, he acted more vulnerable, and if Amelia hadn't despised him so much, she might have felt sorry for him. After all, children learn what they live, and it was well-known that Isaac's father had abused him as a child. There were even whispered rumors of something much darker that may have taken place when Isaac was a boy, but Isaac never mentioned anything about it, and Amelia didn't care to ask. Whatever it was, it had managed to deeply mess with Isaac's mind.

Amelia shivered slightly, applying her family's philosophy to the thought. _Ignore it and it will go away. After all, Isaac doesn't seem to care, and rumors are rarely true_, she thought, sipping her sparkling water. _Besides, who cares about that chauvinist pig, anyway?_ Some yelling across the restaurant caught her—and everyone else's—attention, then.

"_Oh, so what, I wasn't supposed to say anything?!_"

"_That's not the point!_"

"_Then what, pray tell, __**is**__ the point?!_"

"_You can't go around fighting with everyone! First it's the costume designer, then the choreographer, then the guy who sets up the speakers during sound check… Dammit, Izumi, can't we do anything without you fighting with everyone?!_"

At this point, the waiter was asking the loud siblings to leave, to which he received a dual '_piss off!_' from the angry girl and her even angrier brother. In the end, though, the two were finally persuaded out of the restaurant, the remaining two parts of their family in tow, both thoroughly embarrassed. Everyone in the restaurant was annoyed by now, except Amelia, who was actually quite envious of the loud girl who had so freely spoken her mind.

* * *

Friday rolled around more quickly than some would have liked. There would be a huge dinner in one of the ballrooms, where all guests would be attending. To make matters worse, it was a formal affair. As a wedding gift to Hunny and Natsumi, Hikaru and Koaru had created a dress for Natsumi to wear to this occasion, seeing as how they weren't allowed to design the wedding kimono. Since the guests would not attend the actual wedding (family-only was the tradition), tonight's banquet and tomorrow's celebration would have to make up for it.

Natsumi looked into the mirror at her dress. It was a white A-line dress, with black trim and a flared skirt that went down to just above her knees to make her look taller. Natsumi would also wear black stockings and white ankle boots with this dress (as they had suggested she do).

She heaved a sigh, pulling on said stockings and boots, and then paced across the room. She had twenty minutes before a makeup artist came to beautify her, and she wasn't sure what to do with her time, so she did what she usually did: looked at her photo album. She skipped over the front of the book and stopped more towards the end, where her more recent pictures were. There were a few landscapes, architectural features that had stood out to her, and then she stopped on a page. Before her were three pictures of Mitsukuni, taken without his knowledge.

She shuddered, _what kind of a creepy stalker does something like that_? She wasn't doing it to Minori, who she had idolized and tried to be just like since she was a child. It seemed like all she did was think about him, especially since he…

Her skin turned red. That incident had caused a wave of dreams about him, and they weren't anything like the weird dreams that she had had when she first met him. The old dreams consisted of her house being made of strawberries (Mitsukuni had said they were his favorite), and burying ice cubes at the beach. The new dreams were more realistic, and all of them involved him kissing her.

She jumped and slammed the book shut when she heard a knock on her door. As she went to answer the door, she caught her refection again. She seemed to be taking the whole 'blushing bride' thing a bit too literally.

* * *

The dress that the twins had given to Haruhi was a gold empire waist, which went to her calves. In fact, she thought she recognized this design from another occasion, but hopefully she wouldn't be falling into a body of water this time. Unlike most of the other girls, Haruhi wore flats because heels were uncomfortable, hard to walk in, and altogether illogical creations.

She studied her face, contemplating if she should attempt to apply cosmetics. In the end, it had looked pretty ridiculous, and she had washed it off and headed to the ballroom.

Haruhi was among the first of the guests to enter the room, taking half as much time to get ready as most of the other women were, and their dates were all forced to wait. She saw Hunny and Mori sitting together, and suspected that Hunny had had to come early. His family was also already there, as well as a few miscellaneous people that Haruhi didn't know, and didn't care to know.

Izumi and Minori were also there, getting things ready on the platform that would be their stage. They were wearing matching strapless corset dresses. Izumi's was red, and Minori's was blue. Both wore basic black cancan boots, which were mostly hidden by their dresses, anyway. They had almost forgotten that they were there for work, and not to end up in a lying contest with another set of twins.

* * *

Within the next hour, everyone had arrived. Kyouya stood near the stage, listening to the band that the bride had insisted on having, and making mental notes. _Memo: Live entertainment, hire string quartet. It shows better taste and more class._ He felt a presence stand beside him, and shifted his weight to look at her.

Renge kept her eyes on the stage as she spoke to him, "We should hire a band like this for our wedding. It's less boring than all of the other banquets I've been to."

Kyouya nodded vaguely. _Memo: Convince Renge to think that a string quartet is her idea._

* * *

Tamaki found Haruhi standing alone with a wineglass. "Are you enjoying yourself?" he asked.

Haruhi, not one to complain (she usually couldn't find anything to complain _about_), shrugged, "I don't really know many people."

Tamaki smiled warmly at her, "We'll just have to fix that." He put a hand on the small of her back and led her to a group of people.

"Ah, Suou-san, good evening," said one of the middle-aged men, "May I ask who that lovely lady you're escorting is?"

"This," said Tamaki proudly, "Is Fujioka Haruhi." He purposely didn't clarify his relationship (or lack thereof) with her, because older men with money were notorious for trying to take advantage of young women who _didn't_ have money. Not that he thought Haruhi was capable of being bought, but he didn't want the thought to cross the minds of any of these men. It was best that they all believed that she belonged to him.

Haruhi, on her part, didn't seem to mind—either that or she didn't notice—that Tamaki was leading them to believe a lie. She greeted them all politely, and they all spoke kindly to her, but she had a feeling that Tamaki was acting as a safety blanket for her.

* * *

Isaac paraded Amelia around like arm candy, doing his best to draw attention to the fact that she belonged to _him_. Amelia had decided long ago that he was compensating for something. She wore a black floor length, low-cut, fitted halter dress, which was slit up to the thigh on the left side. She also wore hot pink six-inch stilettos, which was unnecessary because she was already fairly tall, but she liked it when she was a little taller than Isaac, because she was certain that people laughed about it behind his back. _If that makes me a bitch, then I don't really care_, thought Amelia spitefully.

Across the room, she caught sight of the tall man, Mori, that she had been fantasizing about for three days. They had spoken to each other briefly on occasion since that afternoon when she had walked by the fitness center, and each time they talked, she wanted to know more. Maybe she was just so unhappy with her impending doom/wedding, that the dark and mysterious Mori seemed dangerous enough to excite her, even if he was the safest person in the world; which, she had learned, he practically was.

She thought of what it would be like to stand next to him, with his arm around her, instead of Isaac. Even with her six-inch heels, he'd still be taller than her. She resisted the urge to smile too widely, as she sought solace in her own mind.

* * *

Whenever Kokoro Uta played live, except for at concerts, they usually had a DJ with them, too, so that they could take breathers every few songs. This also gave the people at the party a better range of music, so that they weren't stuck with _just_ Korota songs, and could request what they wanted. This party mostly wanted Beethoven. The band had been forced to play only the mellowest of their songs, cutting their play list by more than half. This was, in a way, a good thing, because it meant more breaks to keep them from running out of songs halfway through the party.

Apparently there was a big dinner coming up in an hour, which is what food-enthusiast Izumi was looking forward to. It made the food less enjoyable, though, when you had a manager, a sister, and a brother pestering you about calories the whole time.

Minori strayed from her sister, intent on finding Kaoru to ask what the plan was. Minori was fairly smart, but didn't plan well, and instead went where the wind blew her (or where Izumi told her to go). Spotting him, she slipped gracefully through the crowd until she reached him, and waited for him to finish speaking to some person or another.

When he finally turned his attention to her, making sure there was no one around to hear them, he began explaining the next part of the plan.

* * *

Natsumi was glad to be busy entertaining guests, because every time she looked at Mitsukuni, she would rest her eyes on his lips and think about jumping him right then and there, only making her face heat up in embarrassment. What kind of a pervert was she? She felt like the nineteen-year-old girl version of a dirty old man. They would be married tomorrow, and then she would _have_ to start thinking about these things, so why couldn't she just focus on other things for now

She outwardly groaned as the reality of her situation sunk in, in less than twenty-four hours she would be a wife.

* * *

After speaking to Minori, Kaoru left her to find Izumi. He had been told by Minori that Izumi preferred him, but it had been strangely exciting to hear the words directly from Izumi, herself. And she had said he was _hotter_ than Hikaru. Less than a handful of people could even tell them apart, but Izumi had managed to find one more attractive than the other.

Her back was turned to him, but as he approached, he could hear distinctive beeping. She slouched in her chair, playing a DS, and waiting for dinner to start. She only looked up for a minute when Kaoru sat next to her, before she started battling some four-armed, two-dimensional creature.

"Hey, Kaoru," she muttered.

"Hi. Is that a new one?" he asked, pointing to the electronic game in her hand.

"Yeah," she said distractedly, "I lost the other one—the one that you returned—so I had to buy a new one."

He laughed, "You really are something."

"Is that a good thing?"

"Yes, it is," Kaoru answered, standing, "Do you plan to sit here all night?"

"When I'm not on stage."

He shook his head, "Wrong answer. The correct answer was: 'Not at all, I was actually hoping to dance with Kaoru'."

She turned to him, slightly shocked, "Are you asking me to dance?"

"No," he said, "You're asking me."

Izumi laughed, standing to face him, "Okay, then. Kaoru, may I have this dance?"

"Well…"

"Kaoru!"

He smiled at her, "Alright, let's go."

While Kaoru was talking to Izumi, Minori was off looking for Hikaru, who had apparently vanished. When she found him, he was sitting with Haruhi, drinking what must have been wine. They laughed about something, and then the blond guy—Tamaki, was he?—called Haruhi over.

She stood with a half-smile. "Duty calls," she said, rolling her eyes, but still seeming happy about it.

After Haruhi had walked away, Minori approached Hikaru. "Pining won't make her notice you," Minori said, sitting beside him.

"I'm not pining! We're friends, and I gave up on anything else a long time ago," he argued, watching Haruhi stand next to Tamaki, conversing with upper-class people.

"Mm-hm," she muttered skeptically, "And if they split up? How long would it take you to make a move; a day?"

"I wouldn't _make a move_," Hikaru snapped, "Shouldn't you be with Kaoru?"

She grinned, "I think he's a little busy right now." She pointed to the open area, where Kaoru was dancing with Izumi, who seemed to be having some trouble with the waltz they were doing.

Hikaru sighed, shaking his head, "Should have seen that coming."

Minori giggled, "You're the only one that didn't, I think."

"There's something you're not telling me."

Minori hummed a little, "Well, it's like this: Kaoru figured out your plan when you told him about the double-date. I guess he thought it was weird that you and Izumi, two people who don't even _like_ each other, would even consider dating. Anyway, during the date, he told me about it, and we decided to get you guys back for interfering. The best way was to make both of you think that your plan had backfired. I honestly didn't expect Izumi to _really_ like him, but when I figured out that she did, I told him. Kaoru and I then hatched up this plan, that Kaoru then went to Izumi with, and I pretended not to know anything about it. Its purpose was to get Izumi alone with Kaoru, while making her think that the purpose was to get you alone with me." She purposely left out the part about them eavesdropping on Hikaru and Izumi, and her knowing that Hikaru had a little crush on herself.

Hikaru gaped at her, "You could have just said that you knew what we were doing, and avoided that whole mess."

"Yeah," she smirked, "But Kaoru said that he wanted to have some fun with the situation, and I didn't mind, either."

"And Izumi still doesn't know any of this, right?"

"That's right."

Hikaru grinned wickedly, "Interesting."

* * *

Amelia eventually got away from Isaac when it came time for dinner. She chose a seat, as people wandered to the tables, and absently began to rearrange her silverware. She only bothered to look up when the chair beside her was pulled out, and someone sat to her right.

Mori watched her briefly, waiting for her to say something. When she never did, he asked, "What are you doing?"

She stopped, straightening in her chair, "I don't know." She adjusted her salad fork one last time before folding her hands in her lap, "It's just something I do."

"Ah."

Amelia looked across the table, noticing the intricate centerpiece for the first time. She really hated when he answered with _ah_, or _hm_, or some other equally primitive grunt, and he tended to do it a lot.

When she fell quiet again, Mori examined her, looking for a topic to get her speaking again. His eyes fell on a pink gem set between two diamonds, that hung around her neck on a dainty silver chain. He tried to think of something to ask her about it, but could only come up with, "What kind of gemstone is that?" He usually didn't have to initiate conversations, and he was finding it increasingly difficult with this woman who hardly spoke unless she was spoken to.

She looked down at the necklace for a minute before she answered, "A pink sapphire, I believe, and if I'm not mistaken, the chain is white gold."

Mori nodded, though he had never been able to tell silver from white gold. Jewelry wasn't his area of expertise, and all he really knew were the major designer names—and this was, of course, out of necessity.

She continued, "I don't know where it came from, exactly, though. I'm told that I must give it back to Isaac after tonight."

Mori raised an eyebrow, "It's not yours?"

Amelia pouted only slightly, more in annoyance than childishness, "Nothing is mine. It all belongs to my parents, or Isaac, and they can take it all back if I displease them."

Mori didn't have time to respond before his small cousin bounced into the chair next to him, and Amelia wasn't sure if he would have responded, anyway.

* * *

The hosts now sat together once more, with their once-self-proclaimed manager, Hunny's soon-to-be bride, Izumi (and Minori by way of Izumi), and Amelia, who had accidentally found herself at their table.

"Excuse me, Natsumi-san," Kyouya asked calculatingly, "I would just like to know what influenced your decision to plan without a seating chart?"

Natsumi looked away shyly, "Honestly, I didn't think so many guests would come; I had always thought I'd have a small wedding."

While this was happening, Renge leaned toward Minori. "Don't you think it's strange that Natsumi-chan isn't having a bachelorette party? I heard that she had a small bridal shower at her home a few weeks ago, but it seems odd that she isn't celebrating her last night."

Minori nodded, "True. She doesn't seem like the 'stripper' type, though."

Renge thought for a minute, "Even so... We should smuggle her out of here and go have some _real_ fun. This is boring."

Minori studied Natsumi from across the table, "You're right. After dinner, let's find Momoe and round up the girls so we can get out of here." Turning to her sister, she discreetly whispered the plan into her ear.

Izumi rolled her eyes, "Did you forget that we're the entertainment?"

"These old people don't want to hear our music anyway," Minori huffed, "I'd much rather go shopping and then hit a Karaoke bar."

Izumi had to admit, it certainly sounded more fun than being here, and she could even get out of her long dress, which had caused enough stumbles already. After a moment of deciding that getting drunk and singing poorly was indeed more fun than eating... whatever the stuff on her plate was, she nodded.

"Who were you planning on bringing along, again?"

With the decision made, Renge excused herself from the table, and set out to drag Momoe away from her fan-girling over Minori and Izumi's older brother. The plain girl had been reluctant to leave her position next to her celebrity crush until Renge had whispered '_the plan_' in her ear, then she had been more than happy to help kidnap her BFF.

Back at the former-hosts' table was an unsuspecting Natsumi, talking with the equally unsuspecting men, while Haruhi and Amelia—both thoroughly confused—were being dragged off by the female twins to 'powder their noses'. None of them noticed when Tamaki also excused himself to use the restroom.

Now the girls, minus Natsumi, were hiding in a place where they could see without being seen, waiting for an opportunity to grab the auburn-haired girl and make their escape.

"We need some kind of distraction," Renge groaned, watching how there was always at least one person talking to Natsumi.

"You're right," agreed Minori, "Izumi, get out there and cause a distraction!"

"What do you expect me to do, juggle kittens?" Izumi snapped. Minori rolled her eyes.

"Just go fall down or something," she waved dismissively at her twin, "You do that often enough when we _don't_ need you to."

"Oh, bite me, Minori!"

Renge turned and gave the twins a sharp 'sssh!', causing the argument to die down to hissed whispers.

"Why didn't you just ask her to come to the ladies' room while you were dragging me away?" Haruhi asked. "They probably think it's strange that half of the people at their table are missing, anyway."

Minori sweat dropped and mumbled an, "Oh, yeah…" while Izumi muttered a curse under her breath.

Momoe stepped forward, "I'll handle this, you guys just meet me in the lobby in ten minutes." They all nodded in agreement, and split up to get changed and such.

Natsumi was in the middle of discussing classic paintings with Kaoru when Momoe suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her up.

"So sorry!Back in a sec!You don't mind, do you?Kay, thanks!" she yelled quickly, bolting for the door, dragging Natsumi behind her.

* * *

Tamaki was on his way back to the ball room, when he saw Haruhi on her way out. Without thinking, he ran toward her and caught her by the wrist, not only stopping her, but spinning her around until she was facing him. "Haruhi," he stated, "I have tried to tell you how I feel, but I think Kyouya is right."

Haruhi had to bite back a comment about how unnecessary that statement was. Kyouya was _typically_ right.

"The only way to make you understand is to be direct. Haruhi, do you love me at all?" She made a shocked noise in the back of her throat.

"Senpai…?" Luckily, no one was around to hear at this point.

He looked at her expectantly, half of him steeling himself for rejection. She simply stared back at him, until he wondered if she had heard the question. Everyone knew she was ignorant to the feelings of others, but he had been hoping for something a little less inquisitive when he bared his soul to her. A century and a half later (by Tamaki's clock), he finally decided to speak. "You don't, do you?" he asked, almost fearfully.

She gently pried his hand from her wrist, where he hadn't realized he was still holding on, and closed her eyes, looking for words. "Senpai," she murmured, "It's not that simple. You aren't really in love me, you love the _idea_ of being in love."

"But! Do you have any idea how long I've—"

She silenced him, uncharacteristically harsh, "Senpai, I'm barely through my first year of law school, and even if you and I could make it work, I still wouldn't have time for it." The real truth was that she _did_ care about him, maybe even love him, but there was also a shell of frustration around that affection. Why couldn't emotions ever be clear-cut?

He looked at her, as if he was trying to burn her face into his memory, before he turned away. "I understand," he said, walking away from the girl that he had mostly expected to jump into his arms and let him sweep her off her feet.

She stood still, shaking her head, _No, you don't. You don't understand at all._

* * *

Due to her delay with Tamaki, Haruhi didn't have enough time to get changed before meeting the other girls in the lobby. Not that she cared, her clothes had never really mattered to her. Though the other girls _did_ give her some strange looks, but none bothered to pursue answers to their unspoken questions.

Suddenly realizing a potential predicament, Renge let out a sigh, "I don't suppose we can get cars, huh?"

"Not unless we want everyone to know that we're sneaking out, which sort of defeats the purpose," Momoe mused.

"W-wait a minute! You guys still haven't explained _why_ we're sneaking out," Natsumi complained, still allowing herself to be pulled through the doors and out into the cool night air.

"We could get a taxi, but it would take a few to get all seven of us there," Minori thought out loud.

"Why don't we just walk to the station and get one the next train?" asked Haruhi. This got her a few stares, like the girls she was talking to had never used public transportation in their lives. _And I'm sure a few of them haven't, rich bastards_, thought Haruhi scornfully.

"Hey, that's a great idea," shouted Minori in a sudden bout of excitement, grabbing her sister's hand and wandering off in some random direction.

"Uh, Minori-san, Hibiya Station is _this_ way," Haruhi pointed out, as she began leading everyone else in the right direction.

* * *

"_That's all we really WAAAAAANT, is some FUUUUUUUN! When the working day is done, oh girls, they wanna have fu-un. Oh, girls just wanna have FUUUUUUUUN_," Momoe and—with a bit of liquid courage—Natsumi sang. Everyone else was also fairly intoxicated, except Amelia, who wouldn't touch the stuff if you paid her. Instead, she was busy wondering how she had gotten included in their escape, though not at all unhappy with it.

In her tipsy state, Renge leaned toward Minori and Izumi a little closer that good manners would have allowed and asked a bit too loudly, "Hey, I was wondering, is there something going on between you two and a certain _other_ pair of twins? Because you all seem to spend a suspicious amount of time together." Izumi groaned as Minori answered.

"Not me, but 'Zumi here nearly has dear Kaoru secured."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Izumi denied, "It's not like that. It's a… thing, you know? Just a thing. But I'll say right now who I could do without: that Hikaru jerk! He's so… ugh!"

Haruhi laughed, "You can't expect much better from a group of people who could manage to be completely **perplexed** by instant coffee." Izumi and Minori look at her curiously, sensing that there was a story behind the statement. With little prompting, Haruhi described her adventures with the host club over the last few years.

As Natsumi and Momoe's song ended, and another began, the twins grabbed the microphones and began singing, and after that, Renge took a turn with Minori. By then end of the night, everyone—excluding Haruhi—had taken a turn on the lighted platform, including the ever-quiet Amelia, before they all found their way back to their hotel the same way they had gotten to the karaoke bar.

* * *

The girls walked the halls none to quietly on their way to their rooms; the drunk ones, anyway. The _less_ drunk of the group—consisting of Haruhi, Izumi, and Amelia—did their best to shush the intoxicated girls… Mostly Minori and Renge.

"_If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends_," The two sang together, loudly _and_ off key, following it with a perverted, drunken giggle.

Once they reached their part of the hotel, Izumi pulled her sister into their room, kidnapper style, muttering something about 'only having two drinks' and 'lightweight'.

A little further down the hall, Tamaki was sitting on the floor in front of Haruhi's room, knees bent up and head resting on them. He seemed to be sleeping.

Momoe winked when she caught Haruhi's eye, scampering off to her room, and shoving a staggering Natsumi around the corner in the direction of her own room. Also having the decency (or was it just plain sense?) to give them some privacy, Amelia wandered off in a random direction.

Renge, however, went to where Tamaki was sleeping and blew on the bangs that covered his eyes, which opened at the sensation, having him find himself practically nose-to-nose with the girl.

He blinked twice, "Renge…kun?"

"Tamaki-kun," she whispered loudly, "You're hot."

Tamaki and Haruhi suddenly got matching expressions, as their eyes nearly popped out of their heads. "Eh," was all the blond could choke out before she continued.

"Kyouya-kun is hot, too, but he wouldn't sit on the floor and wait for me…"

Haruhi pulled the girl by the arm, "Speaking of Kyouya-senpai, he's probably worried. Where's your key, I'll unlock your door for you." After going through all of the necessary procedures to unlock and open the door, and then to get Renge to go in and go to bed, Haruhi stood in front of him where Renge had been; except Haruhi wasn't crouching, and Tamaki had to crane his head back to see her face.

"Senpai, what are you doing here?" she wanted to know.

He noticed that her face was flushed, but he wondered if it was anger, or embarrassment, or alcohol, because her speech was slightly off, too. He stood to alleviate his neck, trying to think of something to say. He hadn't really had a reason for coming, he only wanted to see her. "You're so beautiful," he murmured, not even noticing that he had said it out loud.

"Oh." She looked herself over and then nodded, "Hikaru and Kaoru lent it to—"

"No. _You're_ beautiful. You're beautiful in dresses and pants and even in that awful sweater you were wearing when I met you, and nothing you—or nature—can do will make you less beautiful. Not even dressing in men's clothing." Her face had flushed darker now, and Tamaki was most certain that it had nothing to do with booze. He stepped carefully toward her, "I would like to kiss you, now."

Her eyes, which had been avoiding him while he went on about how beautiful she was, were now focused on him. She tried to say no, that's what her rational brain told her to do, but instead all she managed to do was nod. She felt a little guilty when she saw a surprised look cross his face, knowing that she was completely contradicting what she had said earlier, but didn't get the chance to dwell on it as his arms circled her waist and he dipped his face to meet her mouth.

* * *

Natsumi rummaged through her pockets, searching desperately for her key card, which didn't seem to be _anywhere_ on her person. She was aware that her mother would probably be a little angry at her, and began to think of people that she could ask for help. Momoe came to mind, but she slept very deeply, and there wasn't much chance of getting her to open the door.

There was only one other person that she could think of, then, and if she hadn't been quite so inebriated, she probably would have chosen to face her mother instead. Alas, inebriation usually trumps common sense.

Natsumi knocked on the door, near in tears, and when Yasuchika answered, she finally started crying.

He stared at her, "W-what's wrong?"

"I can't find my key," she looked at him with big, watery eyes, "And my okaa-chan is going to be mad at me, Chika-chan!"

The teenager's eye twitched in annoyance at the all-too-familiar nickname, before he disappeared back into the suite, having her follow him and sit in the living-area. Once she was seated (and still crying her eyes out), he went into his brother's bedroom. Most people would have been afraid to wake Haninozuka Mitsukuni for fear of bodily harm, but then again, most people didn't fight him whenever they saw him, either.

When Hunny realized that his brother was the one who had woken him, he instantly got ready for an attack, only to be stopped by the brunette's voice.

"Later. There's something wrong with her," he said, pointing a thumb to the other room.

Hunny looked thoroughly perplexed, "Who?"

"She called me **'Chika-chan'**!"

Hunny, realizing that asking questions would get him nowhere, slipped off the bed and made his way for the door, having a sneaking suspicion of which _'she'_ was waiting on the other side.

* * *

Amelia hesitated to return to her room; she knew what was coming once she got there. However, she also knew that staying out any later would make it so much worse. Besides, she couldn't go back _now_, what if Miss Haruhi and Mister Suou were still… _talking_—or whatever they were doing?

She wandered around to all the places she had seen the last time she had wandered the hotel, noting how different everything looked at two in the morning, until she came to the room that held the exercise equipment. This room held some fairly good memories for her, and she closed her eyes, and leaned against the doorframe, reliving the moment she had spoken to a _shirtless_ Mori. After a minute, she gave a content sigh as her eyes fluttered back open.

And she nearly died.

The very man she had just been thinking about was standing right in front of her, staring passively at her. She scrambled for something to say, though effectively didn't show him how frazzled she was at the moment.

With only a slight tremor, she managed to choke out a, "Mori-san," as she inclined her head as a greeting.

"Hi," he said simply, also nodding slightly.

"Couldn't sleep?" she asked, attempting to make things less awkward. If she hadn't currently been in the situation she was in, she might have found the déjà vu funny.

"Mitsukuni was worried," he explained (as if that explained _anything_), as he tilted his head slightly, stretching his neck.

"About Miss Hoshiyama? Yes, I supposed it was a bit selfish of us," she murmured, feeling guilty. He didn't respond, as he moved to the other side of the room and put his shirt back on. Finally, he turned and spoke to her.

"Let's have a meal," he stated like it a fact rather than a question. Even so, she found herself nodding and following him to the closest 24-hour bar.


	6. Chapter 6

**Dearest Starling**

**Chapter Six**

Hunny stared at his fiancée, the woman who would be his wife by the end of the day, as she slept on the sofa that she had recently passed out on. His brother had long since gone back to bed, and he really should have, too, but for some reason, he couldn't stop staring at the girl. He should have at least been annoyed that she had left without a word, only leaving a note in her room for them to find _after_ they were thoroughly worried about her, and then she comes back and wakes him up so that she can pass out on his couch? He should have been downright angry!

But he wasn't. If this had happened when he first met her, he would have been, but he knew her better than that. He just couldn't stop thinking of how cute it was; this was most probably her first time getting drunk, and truthfully, he was happy that she trusted him enough to come to him in her time of need. Not that he could _do_ anything for her at this point, but he was glad nonetheless.

Tomorrow he _would_ have to get the specific details of what she had done while she was gone, but he was confident that nothing had happened. If she trusted him, the least he could do was put that same faith in her.

* * *

Tamaki and Haruhi stood forehead-to-forehead, noses touching, as their heavy breath mingled between the two of them, though neither one of them met the gaze of the other. Haruhi was the first to turn her head a fraction, and stare into his eyes. She currently had one arm around his neck, the other tangled in his hair, and she hesitantly pulled her arms away to let them fall at her sides.

"Senpai," she said, gaining his full attention.

"Hmm?" He blinked as she stepped back, putting a good twelve inches between them.

"Goodnight," she whispered, resisting the urge to reach up and brush the stray hairs from his eyes. He nodded, his face reddening bashfully.

"Goodnight, Haruhi." With that, he stepped around her and made his way back to his room. She stared at his back blankly, only snapping her eyes to her doorknob when he looked back at her over his shoulder.

She'd have to be sure to claim that she had been more drunk than she truthfully was when she next saw him.

* * *

Mori and Amelia sat at a table near the back of a smoky bar, neither saying anything as they each drank their respective beverages. A jukebox sat in one corner, pumping out Japanese music—with a surprising number of English words mixed in—while random people sat around drinking, most of them looking like they had been there all night. Amelia didn't usually start conversations, but she had opened her mouth a few times to make an attempt, each time realizing that she couldn't think of a topic besides, '_why on Earth did you ask me to come here if you weren't going to say anything?_'

After a few more minutes of silence, she tried once more to start a discussion, but was interrupted by a waitress, who turned asked Mori if he needed anything, and then turned to Amelia and repeated the question in condescending English—or maybe Amelia was just paranoid—to which Amelia replied, in Japanese, that she was fine. Her victorious feeling didn't last long as she realized that she and Mori _still_ hadn't even uttered a syllable to each other. Amelia opened her mouth to try again, but the only sound that came out was a startled cry as a flood of ice water suddenly splashed in their direction, mostly on her.

She barely registered the continuous mantra of anxious apologies that were being thrown at her, as her mind attempted to put itself back together after being jumbled by the freezing cold water. Upon recovery, she was having napkins handed to her and more apologies were being said, so she accepted the napkins politely, and assured the awkward waiter that she was fine. Without much thought, she got up and headed to the restroom so that she could wring her hair out in the sink. Upon reaching the single unisex bathroom, she turned to lock the door behind her, only to find that a certain someone was keeping the door from closing. She watched him dumbly and he pressed himself into the small room with her and locked the door behind him.

Prying a crumpled napkin from her fist, Mori held it up and ran in gently down her face from her temple to her jaw, as she continued to watch him noiselessly, attempting to comprehend his actions. Silent as always, he held the napkin in front of her in explanation, causing her eyes to widen, and her to put her hands over her face and grope around for the sink. Her reasons being: one, he had wiped her makeup from her face, telling her that she must have looked a mess, with smeared foundation and running mascara; two, he had wiped her makeup from her face, telling her that with little more effort, he would see the evidence of Isaac's violent tendencies, if he hadn't already.

She chanced a peek at herself in the mirror, as both worries were made into painful reality in front of her. With an inward grumble, she began running water and cleaning off the rest of her runny cosmetics.

"I had a feeling that you were hiding something," Mori murmured. They looked each other in the eye trough the mirror.

"Isaac is… easily frustrated," she explained, "I'm sure things would be better if I were able to be what my parents promised I'd be." Mori straightened from his position leaning against the wall.

"This is your fault?"

"No! Well, I don't know," she hid her face, drying it with her damp napkins, finding only a hot-air blower and no paper towels. "We don't talk about it," Amelia paused to search for an explanation, but found none, "We're not supposed to talk about it." Mori watched her shiver in her drenched plum-colored sweater, as she retrieved her purse from the floor, hiding her face from him as well as she could without being obvious.

He was able to cross the tiny bathroom in two strides, and was next to her before she even realized he was coming, taking the bag from her hands and placing it on the counter. With his finger, he tilted her face up to him and examined it, now seeing that most of it was decorated in patches of color ranging from deep purple to light brown; new and old bruises that were telltale of just how regular the actions that inflicted them were carried out. His eyes traveled to her lips, then, where there were no markings or injuries of any sort. The man, bastard that he was, was apparently smart enough to leave alone anything that couldn't easily be covered up.

Mori ignored the sick feeling in his stomach that he got from thinking about the other man's distasteful actions, and instead considered capturing the mouth of the woman before him, regardless of the shame he should have felt at the very thought of acting in such a way with an engaged woman; though, did it count in this particular scenario? Pushing his moral battle to the back of his mind, he finally allowed himself a taste of the forbidden fruit.

She froze, unable to think of a better course of action. _How strange,_ she thought. Wasn't this the moment when instinct was supposed to take over; when the heroine was supposed to suddenly be lost in her feelings and submit to the hero completely? That's how it went in all of the romance novels…

He pulled away a second later, taking her stiffness as rejection, and stepped back from where he had pinned her against the counter. About to apologize, the words died in his throat as he found himself (or rather, allowed himself to be) pushed against the wall opposite to the sink, where she pulled him to her by the shoulders and initiated a much rougher kiss.

Which ended abruptly when there was a knock on the door, and they suddenly realized that they had been inside the restroom for nearly fifteen minutes. Amelia rushed to the sink, only bothering to clip her hair back and apply some concealer to her battered skin, before she and Mori rushed out, looking to the other patrons like a couple who had gone in for a quick roll in the hay. They paid their bill and left, then, avoiding eye contact with anyone they happened to pass on their way out.

* * *

Renge crawled across the floor, seemingly believing herself to be a spy, as she made her way through the dark room. The only light came from the door that she had left ajar upon entering, but it did little to light her way. As she neared the bed, she crawled up alongside it and peered over the edge at the still form that slept there.

'_Does he want you?'_ Minori's earlier question had been eating at her since it was asked, but only in her drunken state, did Renge have the courage to perform the necessary actions to get the answer. She would find out, right here and now, _exactly_ what her newly acquired fiancé thought of her.

_Time to put the 'Lingerie Method' to use_, thought Renge determinedly, pulling herself up over the edge of his bed and sitting there for a moment. He barely stirred, causing Renge to let out a frustrated huff. She bounced once, hoping the movement would subtly bring him out of his usual coma-like sleep, but once again, all he did was twitch and roll over. Renge glared at him for a minute, then let out a cry of aggravation, bouncing once more, this time more firmly.

He grunted, fighting every step of the way, but slowly awoke nonetheless. With a glare that would have frightened small children (and probably even grown men), he turned his head to her, silently asking why she _dared_ to disturb his slumber, not trusting his voice to form the words without yelling obscenities at the girl. Renge was either too drunk or too dense to notice this, though.

Leaning closer to nuzzle the side of his face, she whispered his name into his ear, earning a very '_what-the-hell-are-you-doing?_' look from him. She ignored his protests as she straddled him, now leaving light pecks along his jaw.

Even in the darkness, he could tell that she had either drunk far too much, or she had had only a few and simply held her drink poorly. In both cases, he hoped no one important had seen her like this, because the last thing he needed was for his reputation to be ruined by rumors of an alcoholic girlfriend; there was enough talk with her earlier disappearance, and the only thing that had saved their reputations was the fact that the hostess _herself_ had also gone missing, and people were too busy whispering about cold feet on the bride's part to notice any other absences.

"Renge," Kyouya snapped, stilling the girl in her actions, "Where have you been? Did it ever occur to you that your immaturity would not only ruin you, but might even destroy your father's company as well?!"

"But, Kyouya," she whimpered, resting her head on his shoulder and burrowing her face against his neck, "I just wanted to have some fun. Besides, what does _reputation_ matter?" Kyouya could have sworn he saw red for a moment.

"It matters if you want to be successful," he explained as calmly as he could for how angry he was. Why did he bother to put up with her? Sure, she had a good name, a large fortune, was the sole heir of everything that belonged to her father, acted like the lady she was raised to be when in public, was stylish and charismatic, and had an excellent media presence, but there was also _this_. This private Renge, that he wondered if he was the only one who saw. Perhaps the more seemingly perfect Renge was the public Renge, and this… This was _his_ Renge; the Renge that acted ditzy one second, and could nearly outmaneuver him the next; the Renge that still loved to cosplay and play dating sims on her game consol, even though she was probably too old for both activities, now. This just also happened to be the Renge that he found annoying and childish, and altogether ridiculous.

His thoughts paused when he heard her deep breathing that told him she was asleep. His arms, which had been holding both of their weights in their awkward position, were getting tired, so he slowly reclined back onto the pillows again, Renge still on top of him, the white sheets separating their bodies. Now that talking was irrelevant, he continued with his thoughts. Assuming that he could do better—or just as well, at _least_—why didn't he call the engagement off? They hadn't even made it public yet, so he wouldn't even have to answer any questions as to _why_ he called it off; the press would just call it a breakup and move on.

_I wonder if she would cry,_ he thought, before furiously pushing the notion aside. What kind of an Ootori man thought those kinds of things, anyway? Who cared if she cried?! With one last angry grunt to himself, he lost the battle against sleep, sinking into the dreamless world that he often visited.

* * *

Mori and Amelia stood on opposite sides of the elevator as they rode it up to their floor. The woman was still damp and cold, based on the shivering she was doing. Out of the corner of his eye, Mori watched her scrutinize her reflection in the mirrored surface of the elevator walls, scowling after a minute and looking at her feet.

With a ding, the elevator finally came to a stop, and the two stepped out into their hallway, neither making a move to go to their room. Mori stared down the hall, looking at nothing in particular, and Amelia continued to stare at the ground between her feet. They stayed that way for a few infinitely long seconds before Mori spoke.

"What do you think he'll do?" He still didn't look at her, and she still didn't look at him as she answered.

"He'll probably call me a whore and hit me a few times," she winced, practically _feeling_ the bruises forming, already. "Maybe even worse," she added, "I've never stayed out all night before."

He turned to her, "You haven't been out all night, yet." _Yet_. Their eyes met, and the understanding that flickered between the two of them seemed almost surreal.

She didn't know what came over her, but she accepted his hand, reaching for him like a woman possessed once his door was closed behind them.

For the rest of the night, Amelia clung to him, knowing that it was a need for comfort in the most ancient of ways, and it could never be more than that. Mori, of course, knew that he was being used, but if this is what being used felt like, he wouldn't have minded if she bled him dry.

* * *

_That was a horrible idea_, thought Natsumi as she stepped out of the shower, fighting back the headache and the nausea that she felt from her adventure the night before. Her anxiety did nothing to help her bubbling stomach, as she had quickly realized what day it was. It was bad enough being woken up by Mitsukuni after only six hours of sleep, unsure of where she was, but then she had almost puked on him when he had helped her up. His parents and her mother had been quick to scold her, but in her defense, she hadn't really known what was going on until she was in her room with Momoe demanding that she change her clothes.

She wrapped a towel around herself, and blow-dried her hair before emerging from the bathroom, which was connected to her bedroom. Natsumi gave a startled squeak, as she was suddenly being pulled into the center of the room by her mother, Mitsukuni's mother, and Momoe, all insisting that they help her into her wedding kimono. There was a good chance that none of them noticed her repeated assurances that she could do it herself, as the three women spoke excitedly, the older two having obviously long forgotten their anger.

It felt like forever and a year before Natsumi finally had her kimono on, her hair and makeup done, and was turning in front of the mirror, holding the hem up so she wouldn't dirty it or trip over it. The outer kimono itself was white silk with flowers embroidered in a very light gray, and her auburn hair was pulled back into a traditional bun, covered with flowery hair ornaments, and a tsuno-kakushi. The girl blushed at the mirror, she had never looked so grown-up in her life; apparently her mother noticed this too, because the elderly woman put a hand on her daughter's shoulder and said so. Natsumi smiled brightly at her mother, no longer afflicted by her hangover.

* * *

Morinozuka Takashi had effectively stayed up all night, as he looked at the clock and realized that he only had about an hour to get ready, so that he could help his cousin get ready as well. His hand absently twisted the ends of soft, gold hair around his fingers as he thought, the thumb of his other hand running up and down the scar that marred the otherwise flawless wrist of the woman who slept curled against him. Upon seeing it, he hadn't asked about it, knowing what a scar on a person's wrist meant—and vertical, no less; she must have really meant it.

Another glance at the clock told him that he wouldn't be able to stay where he was for much longer without Mitsukuni coming to get him. This thought in mind, he gradually disentangled himself from the sleeping woman and set to getting dressed. Most of the people who would be attending the actual wedding would be wearing the usual western formalwear, but everyone in the Haninozuka and Morinozuka families would wear formal kimonos.

Once dressed, he approached the bed and gently nudged the blonde who slept there, her eyes fluttering open instantly. She seemed a bit disoriented, and looking at him only seemed to confuse her further. And now, with nothing to hide her true face from him, he saw her blush for the first time, and noted how it even crept down her neck, as she pulled the covers nearly to her shoulders.

There was a knock and a whiney, "Takashi," heard from the door, then, causing Mori to turn away from her for a second. When he turned back, he leaned over the bed toward her.

"Take your time," he whispered, "Leave when you're ready. I'll see you later." With that said, he planted a kiss at the corner of her mouth, nodded in farewell and left the room.

Amelia stared after him, even after she could no longer see him, feeling strangely fluttery, the words, '_I'll see you later_' ringing in her head. It wasn't the words that got her, though, it was the sure way he had said them. Even though she knew she'd surely receive a beating the moment Isaac had her alone, Mori's words still made her feel safer somehow. Still feeling giddy, she stood with her first genuine smile in a _long_ time, and started collecting her clothing, heading for the bathroom. _I hope he doesn't mind if I use his shower before I face Isaac and Mother_, she thought, grabbing a towel and turning the water on.

* * *

"Izuuuuuumiiiiiiii, **wake up**!"

"… don' wanna…"

"Izumi!" said girl's irritated brother snapped, "You have **three seconds** to get your lazy butt out of that bed, before I drag you up by your hair!"

"Oh, _please_ don't yell," groaned Minori, putting a hand against her throbbing head. A second later, she was handed two white pills and a glass of water from the youngest member of their family.

Izumi sat up and stretched, glaring testily at her older brother, who remained unfazed, even as her '_I'll-kill-you_' glower grew more intense. Finally giving up on scaring him with dirty looks, she admitted defeat and got up, secretly excited to see a _real_ Japanese wedding for the first time in her life.

After dressing, Izumi came out of the bathroom to see Minori, trying desperately to cover the dark circles under her eyes, while also attempting to stand up through her headache. Just to be mean, Izumi intended to make as much noise as possible.

* * *

Tamaki had already put his tuxedo on and was practically _skipping_ to Kyouya's room, intent on telling his best friend _all about_ his wonderful night. "Kyouya," he called, banging on the door enthusiastically, "Kyouya, guess what I did!"

Renge sat up, hearing banging, and looked around, noticing her position _right away_. She blinked dumbly down at the man sleeping underneath her and let out a mental scream only a second later. _No way!_ she thought, _I didn't… We couldn't have… Why can't I remember anything?!_ She neglected to notice that they were both fully dressed—her in her clothes from the night before, and him in his pajamas—and that there was a blanket between them, and that she still had her shoes on, as she continued to freak out some more. Then the pounding got a little louder, causing her to notice it once more, as she hopped off the bed and ran for the door.

_Okay, Renge,_ she thought,_ Act natural. Whoever's knocking doesn't know about it, so just be cool._ She opened the door and squeaked a greeting without looking to see who was there.

Tamaki jumped toward her, "Renge-kun, I need to talk to Kyouya! What happened last night…! Oh, but I can't tell you, I have to tell Kyouya."

"Last… night?" she asked nervously.

He nodded vigorously, "Yes, it was wonderful! But you should _know_—you were there. For part of it, anyway. By the way, I never knew you thought I was hot."

_Oh no!_ she thought, as her head started spinning mentally,_ I did it with TAMAKI, too?! And he's going to tell Kyouya!_ She continued to panic as Tamaki brushed by her and went running for Kyouya's room without another word. Before she could protest, Tamaki was already waking Kyouya up and blabbering loudly.

The only words Renge heard as she approached were, "And then she kissed me," before she promptly fainted.

* * *

Hunny stood tall—or, as tall as he could—and proud in his wedding apparel; the groom's wedding kimono consisted of a montsuki kimono, worn under a haori and hakama pants.

"Very good, Haninozuka-san," called the photographer, "Now turn to the left a bit, please. Perfect." He did as he was instructed, turning this way and that, awaiting the salvation of Natsumi getting there—they always made a bigger deal out of the bride than they did with the groom.

As if on cue, Natsumi approached the area that the photographer had decided had the best scenery. It was indeed a beautiful area, as the early spring flowers were in bloom, and the pond looked breathtaking from the angle that the pictures were being taken. The camera crew rushed over to her, ushering her toward Mitsukuni so that they could be photographed together. The two were put into several different poses, every pose a little closer together than the last.

Fruitlessly attempting to fight back a blush, Natsumi used their closeness as a way to talk to him before they got to the actual wedding part. "Ano… Mitsukuni-kun, I don't think I ever actually apologized for my behavior last night," she paused to smile at the camera, then continued, "I'm sorry I woke you."

"Not at all," he said, beaming at her, "I'm glad you did. Usa-chan and I were worried about you, so we're glad that we knew you were fine as soon as you got back." Natsumi smiled for the camera, then proceeded to direct a more genuine smile at him, though she doubted the bunny was actually worried about her.

Not long after that, Hunny was asked to step out of the frame so that they could harass Natsumi with pose after pose for a while. Hunny was actually quite glad for the break, as he skipped over to where his tall cousin stood, and took to standing next to him. After a minute, Hunny looked up at him, finally voicing the question he'd been wondering all morning.

"Is something wrong, Takashi? You seem… troubled."

Mori, who could be read by no one (except maybe Haruhi), hid his shock that the little blond had figured him out so easily.

Said blond laughed, "Takashi, I've known you forever!"

"Ah," agreed Mori with a nod, before he thought things over once more, debating whether or not to confide in his cousin. After a moment, he nodded once more, "The lines of honor are being blurred, and I'm not sure what to do."

"Well," hummed Hunny, thoughtfully, "Maybe doing what is honorable and doing what is right are two different things… Depends on the circumstances, I suppose."

Mori tilted his head toward Hunny, "Is it ever okay to act lustfully toward a woman who belongs to another?"

Hunny's eyes lit up in understanding, and a single name slipped from his mouth, "Ami-chan."

No matter how unsettled the taller man was, he could still find a bit of humor in the nickname that Hunny had given the pokerfaced heiress, considering how unsuited someone like her was for that particular honorific. Mori, himself, could hardly imagine himself ever calling her by her first name, much less with such a term of endearment… not in public, anyway. He resisted furiously shaking his head at the thought, now angry that he had reminded himself of his troubles all over again. Making up his mind, he finally voiced his second question of honor, "If that's the case, is there ever a circumstance that makes it okay for a man to harm a woman?"

"Takashi," Hunny gasped, "You didn't!"

Mori closed his eyes for a second, composing himself, "You're right. I didn't." Hunny stared up at him, then realization shone in his eyes once more, before they hardened slightly in anger.

"Takashi," he said decisively, "I don't know about the first thing, but I do know that there is never a good reason to purposefully hurt someone weaker than yourself." Hunny looked at a flowery bush, planning his next words carefully, "And… I think that you should do _whatever_ you feel is necessary in this situation."

Mori nodded, "Ah." It was strange, being told by someone as peace loving as Mitsukuni to basically beat the crap out of someone, but Mori couldn't help a small, albeit humorless, smile nonetheless. The thought was barely in his head when everyone was suddenly being ushered inside to prepare for the ceremony. One sidelong glance showed Mori a confident man in the form of his cousin, where he would have expected to see at least a little nervousness. Either Hunny had grown considerably over the last few years, or he had always been a lot more mature than he had let on.

* * *

Hikaru and Kaoru had just entered the elevator, intent on getting to Hunny's wedding without being late. Things weren't looking good, though, considering every other person in their wing had already gone down to the chapel. Well, _almost_ every other person.

"Hold the door," called a voice, and a second later, Izumi came skidding to a halt in front of the elevator, and promptly fell over. Kaoru had to hide a smile with the hand that wasn't holding the door open, but Hikaru had no qualms about laughing outright at her.

"Oh shut up!" snapped the girl, dusting herself off and stepping into the elevator, "It's not that funny! Jerk!"

Hikaru kept laughing though, "Yes, it is."

She pouted, "And except for being late, I was being so graceful this morning…"

"Well… you look very nice," Kaoru offered, nudging his brother in an attempt to make him stop laughing.

"Ow!" Hikaru clenched his jaw childishly, "Yeah, great."

"Gee, thanks," Izumi muttered sarcastically, before adding offhandedly, "Almost as good a Minori."

Hikaru glared, hiding a blush, as Kaoru decided to intervene. "But you don't look _exactly_ like her," he pointed out, "Which makes sense, since the two of you don't like any of the same things."

Izumi raised an eyebrow, "And you two do?"

"Well, not _all_ of the same things," Hikaru muttered, eyeing the raven-haired girl between him and his brother.

Izumi looked at him questioningly, unsure of whether that was a slam against her, or a compliment to Minori. She didn't have time to ask, though, as the doors slid open, and the three of them made their way to the chapel.

* * *

Amelia leaned against the wall outside the chapel that was housed within the large hotel, absently brushing at her dress. She had gotten dressed in a hurry, having returned to her suite to find neither her mother nor Isaac anywhere to be found, and not wanting to face them just yet, she had dressed as quickly as possible. Her makeup had been done while she was still in Mori's bathroom, but her hair was a bit of a mess, as she had gone into the public restroom near the lobby to pin it up. The sound of many people approaching gave Amelia her first clue that the actual wedding would start soon.

Mori walked behind Hunny for a while, until Hunny had run up to walk alongside Natsumi and her mother. Natsumi's mother, Makuno, was speaking to another older woman, who Mori slowly recognized as Amelia's mother, Opal. Then Mori saw someone that he recognized even better than Amelia's mother: Amelia, herself. The woman seemed to be pressing herself against the wall at he approached her, and when she finally noticed him, she casually stepped behind him for a second.

As Hunny and company passed, the two men had a silent exchange, which resulted in a tiny nod from Hunny as he continued on, not drawing attention to his cousin, and they passed without incident.

Once they were gone, Amelia stepped out from behind him and began recomposing herself. "I didn't really want to talk to my mother yet," she answered his silent question without even looking at him.

"Why not?" he found himself asking before he even realized it. She paused, apparently just as surprised by his question as he was.

"Well," she answered slowly, "let's just say that she's just as bad as Isaac." Mori couldn't help how his eye darted curiously between Amelia and across the area to her mother, where the older woman was talking mirthfully with Makuno. That was strange, though, because Mori knew for a fact that Natsumi had gotten her shy, eager-to-please nature from her mother, and if Opal was really so different from Makuno…

"How are they friends?"

Amelia shrugged, "They're of an age."

Now that Mori thought about it, it did seem strange that the two women would have such young daughters, considering both women were in their late sixties. Amelia gave a sigh, readying herself to explain things to him, which made Mori wonder when _exactly_ he had gotten so easy to read.

"Ms. Hoshiyama was in her fifties when she adopted Miss Natsumi as an infant," she said, absently picking imaginary lint off her dress, "My mother was forty-four when I was born; my brother had died a little more than a year before. If he had still been alive, he would have been nineteen years older than me—then again, if he had still been alive, I wouldn't have needed to be conceived."

"Ah," nodded Mori, giving his usual response. Amelia looked at him, obviously thinking about something, but when she opened her mouth to voice it, she was interrupted.

"Amelia," cooed Isaac as he walked up and stopped in front of them. He looked between the two for a moment before he gave a forced smile, "_Amelia, I didn't see you at all last night._"

Without thinking, she replied, "_I suppose you wouldn't have; I wasn't hiding up anyone's skirt._"

"…_Please escort Amelia inside,_" Isaac said to two of his four thugs through gritted teeth, face reddening with anger. They were quick to follow orders, 'gently' nudging the woman farther into the chapel to sit next to her mother.

Now, Isaac turned to look at Mori, giving him a sarcastic smile. "Look," he said in heavily accented Japanese, "I know she makes a lovely bed warmer, but I suggest you keep your hands off her from now on, understand?"

Mori tried not to tense at how he had described Amelia. Instead, he gazed coolly at the man who was a bit shorter than himself, raising an eyebrow at the threat. "I will if you will," he answered, ignoring the two men behind Isaac, who now had their right hands inside their jackets.

Isaac laughed almost menacingly, "Why should I? I paid for her, so now she's mine."

"If that is truly your opinion, then you aren't much of a man at all."

"_Tch,_" smirked Isaac, "Said the man in the skirt." With that, Isaac left Mori alone, setting himself on the other side of Amelia. Looking pointedly back at Mori, he reached over and put an arm around the blonde woman, before turning his attention to the front of the chapel as the ceremony was about to start.

* * *

In one of the back rows, Izumi looked on curiously, as the priest was doing some kind of weird… thing. "What's going on?" she whispered to Kaoru, who had taken a seat next to her when they got there.

"Shubatsu," he whispered back, "Ritual purification."

"Oh," she said, continuing to look on, as the priest started some kind of prayer. After that, Hunny and Natsumi had to drink sake out of three different cups, followed by the wedding rings. Hunny started the vow, then, and after that, the two of them offered some kind of stick, and then their parents all drank cups of sake.

"American weddings seem more romantic," Izumi muttered, as the ceremony came to an end and everyone made their way to the ballroom.

Kaoru couldn't help but laugh a little, "That's only because you didn't know what was going on."

Izumi grumbled a bit, but had to agree nonetheless. "So," she asked, as they walked, "What _was_ the point of the stick?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Dearest Starling**

**Chapter Seven**

Darkness blurred into colorful blobs as she felt herself coming to, and with a few blinks, she was able to recognize the room as her room in the suite that she was sharing with Kyouya. A few more blinks brought everything else into focus, and one of the first things she noticed was the figure sitting in a chair next to her bed, reading.

Looking up from his book, Kyouya said coolly, "Oh, you're awake."

With a nod and a groan, Renge sat up and looked around. The room was dark, making her wonder, "What time is it?"

He glanced at the clock, "Almost three. We've missed the wedding and most of the reception, but we can still attend if you would like. Unless you don't feel well enough," he added, "Then I'm sure Hunny-senpai would understand our absence."

She shook her head, putting her feet on the floor and standing gingerly, "No, we should go." He gave a nod to say he heard her and put his tuxedo jacket on, then went to the mirror to do his tie. She went into the bathroom with her dress, a thought striking her while she was in there. Through the door, she called, "Did you stay with me the whole time?"

Kyouya nodded, then realized that she couldn't see him and called back a concise, "Yes."

She smiled gently, ignoring his curt response and replying with a simple, "Thank you."

She didn't hear his response, but if she had, it would have been a soft, "You're welcome."

* * *

The formal kimono was difficult to move in, but even that couldn't stop the butterflies in Natsumi's stomach. She was now a married woman, Haninozuka Natsumi—she winced slightly. _Okay,_ she thought,_ so the name's a little… off._ Besides that tiny detail, she was really quite happy that it had finally happened.

Mitsukuni had wanted to dance several times since they ceremony had ended (she suspected it had something to do with the cake that he knew was coming), and now they were opening gifts. It felt like a birthday party; everyone stood around and watched as they opened box after box together. All-in-all, they had received three sets of fine china, a set of silver and gold tableware, two sets of intricate teacups, and a beautiful crystal clock. Hunny jumped up and ran toward the last present, which also happened to be the biggest. He tugged at the bow, and the rest came off easily, effectively ending Natsumi's good mood. There, right in front of everyone, stood a really fancy, super deluxe, baby crib, changing table… _thing_. After that, a huge cake was wheeled out, which was good, because Natsumi was unable to look at Hunny for a good long while.

* * *

Kyouya and Renge reached the ballroom not long after the cake had gotten there, where a few people asked Renge—like they had with all of the other girls—where she had disappeared to the night before. Lying, Renge decided, was the best thing to do in her current situation.

The story—which Kyouya had come up with and insisted that each girl tell—shaped out to generally be this: Renge had gotten a message from her cat-sitter, saying that her cat was very sick. Renge, now very upset, sought comfort from her _close _personal friends, Haruhi, Minori, Izumi, Momoe, and Amelia, who all suggested that she see her cat should this be its last night (apparently it had a sudden bout of kitty terminal illness, or something). Renge, who didn't want to leave her dear friend Natsumi's wedding party, spoke to the hostess herself about the matter. Natsumi, being the loving woman that she was, insisted on Renge seeing her pet, and also volunteered herself and the other girls to go along as moral support. Not wanting to inconvenience anyone by calling their chauffeurs on such short notice, the girls walked to the train station and took the first one to the Houshakuji's Tokyo mansion. They spent most of the night there, until the cat was doing a little better, then they came back to the hotel.

Though the story was farfetched, everyone was quick to accept it as fact, the lie being more convenient than the truth for the only people who knew otherwise.

After clearing things up with the inquiring guests, Renge sped off to ask Tamaki exactly what had happened the night before. It obviously wasn't too bad, or Kyouya surly would have said something, unless it was _so bad_ that he hadn't said anything and simply hoped that she didn't remember. She stood a safe distance away from Tamaki as she waited for him to finish conversing with some older men, and then she called his name tentatively.

"Yes, Renge-kun?" asked Tamaki, turning to her curiously.

She avoided looking at him, clasping her hands behind her nervously, "What… What did I do last night? You said something about me saying you were… hot. Did I do anything else… of that sort?" she stumbled through the words, not knowing how to phrase her question without insinuating that she might have done something regrettable, though one couldn't very well ask something like this without admitting that very thing.

Tamaki blinked at her confusedly, not quite understanding what she wanted him to tell her. "Nothing that I know of," he offered after a while, hoping that his answer would please her, and things would be a little less awkward between the two of them.

_But,_ thought Renge, _If not me, then who? Oh, I wish I could remember!_

Renge's lack of response seemed to tell Tamaki that they were done talking, because he suddenly bolted to the right, yelling, "Haruhi!" She watched in fascination as he sped off after the woman, who slowed her steps to let him catch up. Renge, being a lover of all things romance and gossip, felt her worries dissipate as her mouth curled into a sinister smirk. _Ah, so __**that's**__ what happened…_

* * *

Like the night before, the Shigemiwa siblings were trapped on stage, once again playing for an unappreciative audience, while the Hitachiin twins were busy conversing alone on one side of the room.

"Kaoru," Hikaru began, surveying the ballroom casually, "Have you noticed something strange about Tono and Haruhi?"

Kaoru took a sip of champagne and nodded wordlessly; there wasn't much to say about it. Haruhi wasn't acting any differently than usual, but the air around her had something strange in it, and Tamaki… Well, one could always tell when he had something on his mind, and apparently whatever was on his mind tonight involved Haruhi, and was quite exciting in the former prince's opinion.

Hikaru, who had been thinking exactly what Kaoru was thinking, wondered aloud, "What happened between those two?"

The twins shrugged in unison, deciding that it really wasn't their business, and if they really wanted to know, they could always hound Haruhi for details later. For now, they focused on having fun and being happy for their newlywed senpai.

* * *

As the evening wound down, and many guests began to bid the happy couple farewell and go to their rooms, Amelia felt a new level of dread with each passing second. _It won't be long, before he can't wait any longer_, she thought, watching her fiancé out of the corner of her eye. _And then we'll go up to his room, and he'll try to teach me a lesson about disobeying his orders._ Isaac kept a firm hold on her, seeming to any onlooker like a man who cared enough to hold his girlfriend's hand, and when the time ticked to six o'clock, Isaac stood to make his way upstairs, Amelia in tow.

The movement was not unnoticed by Hunny and Mori, who stood to follow them, with Hunny calling an, "I'll be right back," over his shoulder at his baffled wife.

Many of the guests that had attended Hunny's wedding had security detail, but it seemed like Isaac had an entire section of the FBI working for him, or something. Isaac was aware that he was being stalked by the two men, but decided not to give any indication of this knowledge until they were in a less populated part of the hotel. Rounding a corner and finding himself in an empty corridor, Isaac finally stopped and turned toward his followers, all of his thugs turning with him, ready to strike should the command be uttered.

Mori went to take a step forward, but Hunny stepped in front of him. "Takashi," he said, pulling off his haori to avoid dirtying it, "Your fight is not with these men, so allow me to clear the way for you." No sooner had the words left the small man's mouth, he darted forward, bringing a foot up to kick the front guard in the jaw. The victim fell away from Hunny, and the blond went to the next guard, grabbing his arm mid-punch and twisting, sending him skidding across the hallway floor. No sooner could Hunny deter one attack, another was coming his way, to which the blond jumped up and brought his elbow down to make forceful contact with the man's collarbone. A series of sickening cracks and some really impressive fighting moves later, all of the bodyguards were on the ground, most unconscious, and Isaac found his cocky attitude slipping, as he began to sweat—though his grip on the woman's arm never faltered.

Hunny straightened, his cheerful smile back in place, as he pumped a fist into the air. "Ii-zo!" he called his encouragement to his cousin.

Mori gave a single nod, taking a few strides to where Isaac and Amelia stood, and stopping in front of the Englishman. The two men stared each other down, exchanging words that only men could understand, as the air grew thick with tension. A moment later, Isaac let go of Amelia's arm, but she was far too busy staring in wonder at Mori to notice. It had honestly never occurred to her that Mori would go so far as to give Isaac a walloping for her, then again, it hadn't occurred to her that his entire security detail could be taken out by one person, either.

Isaac, growing impatient with waiting for the other man to make the first move, brought a fist up, fully intending to punch him somewhere in the facial area. Mori was expecting this, though, and nimbly took one step back, causing his opponent to lose balance and fall to the ground. Isaac glowered up at the man, feeling rage seep into his mind and cloud his thoughts, as he righted himself and attempted to hit Mori once more, and once again missed and stumbled.

Amelia continued to watch them in awe, as Mori seemed to be winning the fight without even lifting a finger, and Isaac tumbled to the ground once more. His body shook with rage and humiliation, as he fisted the plush carpet below him in angry frustration. This fight was not about Amelia for him, it was about another man having the nerve to tell him what he could and could not do with his property! But Isaac wasn't a fool, as he took a deep breath through his nose to calm himself; there was no way for him to win if he remained on the offensive. With a final calming breath, he stood slowly, eyeing Mori challengingly.

Amelia could feel hot tears prickling the back of her eyes, and mused how strange it was that she would chose to cry now of all times. But, she wondered, after everything that Isaac had put her through, did this really solve anything? Having someone beat up a man who had wronged her uncountable times for the last ten years?

_No,_ she decided, stepping forward. Her hand clenched into a fist, and her knuckles hurt, and the crack of bone breaking rang out though the secluded hallway.

And then the strangest silence fell over them, as the three men stared at her in wonder, one of them holding a broken, bloody nose; and it suddenly occurred to Amelia that she had just punched Isaac in the face, as she rubbed her tender knuckles with her other hand.

Then, with a fire fueled by years of quietly accepting abuse, she let loose on him all of the anger that she had bottled up over the years, calling him every horrible name that he had ever proven himself to be, though she didn't hit him again after the initial nose-breaking punch—she decided that she didn't especially enjoy hitting people. She ranted and raved until she had no breath left, and then fell limp, like a rag doll, against the wall opposite him, glaring into his shocked eyes.

_"And_," she said between pants, _"I will __**never**__ forgive you, so I'm sure you can figure out __**exactly**__ where you can __**shove**__ your stupid ring!"_ She further demonstrated by removing her engagement ring and chucking it at his head.

Hunny and Mori, who didn't speak English quite well enough to have caught the who thing, had a fairly good idea of what had just happened between the un-couple as Amelia stood testily and marched over to Mori, now back to her usual self, but retaining just a little of her previously demonstrated fire. She reached up to him and pulled him into a full-blown, public-display-of-affection kiss, before stretching up to whisper in his ear.

"Arigato, Mori-san," she murmured, smiling when she felt him return the embrace. She closed her eyes, trying (and failing) to feel bad about what had just happened. Sure, her parents would probably disown her, but they'd get over it eventually. That was the joy of being the only heir, they had to forgive her at some point. And as far as Mori went, even if what had happened between them had only been a fling, a one-time thing, she was still glad for it, because she never would have stood up for herself if he hadn't attempted to stand of for her in the first place.

Hunny smiled to himself, watching the display before him, before turning to retrieve his abandoned haori and making his way back to the ballroom, where he was certain that there was lovely young woman waiting for him.

* * *

Natsumi found herself standing in the middle of her new suite. Not more than a half-hour ago, she had been in a huge ballroom, celebrating her marriage with her friends and family (as well as a few others). Here she was now, though, staring in utter fright at the king-size bed, where she knew what was expected to take place. It wasn't like she hadn't thought—fantasized wasn't exactly the right word—about making love to Mitsukuni, she just didn't know what to expect. He was innocent, and childish, and altogether asexual, just as she had been up until the last few days.

The click of the bathroom door opening startled her out of her trance, and she turned slowly to see Mitsukuni looking at her quizzically. The first thing she noticed was his lack of a shirt. She should have expected what she saw, knowing he was a martial arts champion, but nothing could prepare her for the toned body in front of her. He was muscular, but not in a grotesque way. Wiry was a better word for him, and very slim. His hair was wet, and curled slightly at the ends as it dried, and he had his towel draped around his shoulders.

"Aren't you going to change?" he finally asked.

"Ano…" she looked down at her formal Kimono and instantly felt ridiculous. "I was…" she blushed at the thought of telling him the truth of what was on her mind. Unfortunately, she had always been a terrible liar.

He looked around her at the bed, having noticed her looking at it as he opened the door, and he suddenly understood. Regardless of what people thought of him and his virginity, he was still a twenty-two year old man, and just because he didn't ooze sexuality from every pore like Takashi seemed to, he still had just as much of a libido as everyone else. "You're scared, ne?" he asked, understanding and feeling a little of that fear, himself.

She twisted her fingers together restlessly, humiliated by this turn in conversation. "I'm just…" she started, but gave up. Yes, she was scared, but she wasn't about to say that out loud. That would be absurd, wouldn't it, to be afraid to sleep with your own husband? "Mitsukuni-kun, I'm sorry," she decided was the best thing to say in her current situation.

He only smiled at her, "It's okay, we can wait as long as you want. After all, it's nobody's business what we chose to do on our honeymoon."

She looked at him, astounded by how gracefully he dismissed the pressure that their parents were putting on them. All at once, she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face into his neck, as a wave of relief washed over her, and she couldn't stop the tears that poured down her cheeks because of it. He seemed startled at first, but soon put one hand on the small of her back, while the other pulled her hair from its bun and began to stroke the auburn locks soothingly.

It was then that she decided, she could easily learn to love this man.

* * *

**Two weeks later**

"Ugh, autographs are annoying! My hand hurts just thinking about it…"

Komugi snorted, "I don't know why _anyone_ would want to meet _you_, Izumi."

Izumi rounded on her brother, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just saying," he replied snippily, "Maybe if you were _nicer_ to people…!"

"Guys!" Minori interjected, "We haven't had any time off in months, and you're going to waste your first day of freedom by arguing with each other?" The fighting siblings in question huffed at one another, but made no move to resume their squabble. Just then, Komugi's phone chimed.

"Oh, it's that girl again…" he muttered testily, reading over the text that he had just gotten.

"Well, you must not think she's too irritating, or you wouldn't have exchanged numbers," reasoned the youngest member of their family. Both of Sumire's sisters nodded in agreement. Komugi's face flushed a little, as he stomped off to answer the text without his sisters watching over his shoulder.

"Hey," muttered Izumi, "Not that I care or anything, but one of us should probably follow him to make sure he doesn't hurt himself or something. One, two, three—not it!"

"Not it!"

"Not… aaw." Sumire wandered off after her niisan dejectedly.

"Well," said Minori casually, "Here we are, in New York, with nothing to do. Say, you know who I haven't talked to in a while? Hikaru! I think I'll go visit him."

Izumi flushed, "Is that some kind of a crack?" Minori only smiled over her shoulder. It was well known among their family that Izumi had spoken to Kaoru over the phone every few days since they'd left Japan, and though the conversation was always platonic, Minori could tell that her twin had quite a crush on the younger Hitachiin. It was this fact that had caused Minori to become the self-proclaimed girlfriend of Hikaru.

"Why not?" the girl had reasoned with a giggle. "At least until someone better comes along."

And so, Minori and Izumi had gone to the Hitachiin twin's fancy apartment building, Izumi wondered aloud how Minori even knew where they lived. They entered the main foyer, and looked around in barely contained awe. The Imperial Hotel Tokyo had been one of the nicest places they had ever stayed in, and Hikaru and Kaoru _lived_ in a place that was just as luxurious? _How unfair_, their thoughts echoed each other.

The man at the front desk—must have been a manager or something—looked up and guessed instantly, "_Here to see the Hitachiins?_" Both girls nodded mutely, as he pointed to the elevator.

"_Seventh floor, room 703, it's on the right,_" he then went back to his newspaper, bored with the conversation.

As they approached the elevator, the doors dinged and opened, revealing one of the very people they were looking for.

"Kaoru," called Minori, waving happily. He blinked at her in surprise for a minute, before he smiled and waved back.

"Oh, were you on your way out?" asked Izumi, as they got close enough to talk more quietly amongst themselves.

"No. Well, I mean, yes, but I…" He stopped, realizing that he was rambling, and took a deep breath, "I was just going to get some lunch. Do you guys want to come with me?"

Minori nodded, then looked around, "Where's Hikaru?"

Kaoru sighed, "Still sleeping."

"Well, okay," Minori said, giving her sister a nudge and a wink, "You two go ahead, and I'll go make Hikaru get up."

Kaoru nodded, giving Minori his key, "Room-"

"Seven-oh-three, it's on the right." She skipped over to the elevator, "I'll call you once we're on our way, and you can tell us where to meet you. Bye-bye!" With that, the doors slid closed, and the girl was gone.

Minori opened the door, entering the apartment softly. The entryway was fairly small, but it quickly got bigger as it opened to a spacious living/dining room with one wall done completely in floor to ceiling windows, giving a spectacular view of the city. Just off from that was a bathroom, and a kitchen, which led her to what appeared to be the only bedroom. She entered quietly and looked around. There were two beds with a nightstand between them, and the placement of furniture made it look like a hotel room.

Seeing one sleeping body on one of the beds, Minori moved toward the bed, kneeling on it and leaning over Hikaru's sleeping frame. With her forefinger and her thumb, she reached up and pinched his nose, causing him to awaken suddenly, and give a startled cry at the disturbance.

"M-Minori?!" He looked around, but soon brought his focus back to her, "What are you doing here?"

She leaned back, and giggled, "Izumi and I came to visit you and Kaoru." When he made no move to say anything, she asked, "So how have things been?"

"With Haruhi, you mean? Fine, I guess. I haven't really talked to her since two Sundays ago."

"Oh… Sorry."

"Nah," he sighed, "She's happy, and as her friend, I'm happy for her."

"That's sweet. I'll bet Izumi wouldn't hate you so much if you said something like that in front of her."

He rolled his eyes, "It wouldn't matter, though. I'd still hate her."

"Hm? Why's that?"

"He's changed since they met."

"Is that a good thing?" inquired Minori, examining what must have been a family photo on the nightstand.

"I don't know," he mumbled, pressing a pillow over his head, "He's just different, and I hate it."

"Speaking of changing," said Minori, standing from his bed, "Do you and Kaoru share clothes, or do you each have your own dressers?"

"We share the closet, the right side is his, the left side is mine." No sooner had the words left his mouth, the raven-haired girl was rummaging through his side of the closet.

"Hey!" he shouted indignantly, sitting up, "I didn't say you could get in there!"

"Well," huffed Minori over her shoulder, "Don't offer me information about clothing and then expect me to leave it alone." After shifting through a few shirts, she held up one of his and one of Kaoru's, "How is it possible that you two have such different tastes?"

"You and Izumi have different tastes," he pointed out.

Minori sighed, putting Kaoru's shirt back and tossing his to him. "Yes, but she and I are opposites," she explained, looking for pants, "Like Yin and Yang, peanut butter and jelly…"

"I don't think those are opposites."

"… Red and green."

"Colors don't have opposites!"

She responded by throwing his pants at him, "Yes they do: it's the color across from it on the color wheel."

He shook his head, "You're so weird."

"No, I'm not," she defended, making her way through the door, "I'm sure you can find your own underwear."

"Who says I _wear_ underwear?"

"… I didn't need to know that." He laughed as she continued out the door, leaving him to get dressed on his own.

* * *

Kaoru and Izumi found a restaurant a little more than a block away, and chose a table for four, waiting to order until the other half of their little group got there. They ordered their drinks, and then used their time to catch up.

"So how did that project you were telling me about go?"

Kaoru stirred his tea, "Really well, actually. I'm surprised I got it done; I spent the whole night working on it on Wednesday."

Izumi looked out the window, "I'm glad it paid off, then."

"Yeah, me too," he agreed with a laugh. After a second he asked, "So how long do you have before your next thing?"

"Well, we're set to start recording our next album in July, so we have about three weeks," she answered, "Why?"

"Oh, no reason, really. So what are you doing tomorrow evening?" he asked.

She grinned, "Going out to dinner with you."

"Are you asking me out?"

"No," she teased, "_You're_ asking _me_ out."

He laughed, "Okay. Seven-ish?"

"Sounds good," she answered with a smile and a nod. The two sat in companionable silence then, until Izumi's phone rang and Minori told her that she and Hikaru were on their way.

* * *

Natsumi smiled into the sunlight, loving the warmth of it on her body. Summer was her season; she was named for it, after all. This summer also happened to mark her twentieth birthday.

For the last couple of weeks, Natsumi had felt a little strange, like she was walking through a dream. She had a wonderful husband, a vast estate, which was all theirs, and she was in the top ten of her classes. What more could a girl possibly ask for? She remembered reading somewhere that the first year of marriage was the best, and then it all went downhill, but when she looked at Mitsukuni, she was sure that whoever had written that was wrong.

When the man plaguing her thoughts stepped out onto the deck that she was laying on, she sat up to greet him.

"Mitsukuni," she smiled up at him, proud that she had managed to remember his request of not calling him 'kun' anymore—though sometimes, she needed to be reminded.

"Ohayo, Natsu-chan," he greeted her back. He only ever called her Natsumi when they were all alone, saying that she was his Natsumi, and everyone else would just have to settle for Natsu-chan. Not knowing how else to take it, she had read it as an endearment, and hadn't bothered to think on it since.

"Ano," she mumbled, trying to think of something to say, "Are you hungry?"

His eyes instantly lit up, "You bet I am! Come on, Natsu-chan, let's go get some cake!" With that, he ran off, leaving his sweat-dropping wife behind him. His capacity for cake was really quite astonishing.

She took a moment to herself before following him, looking out at the garden. Technically, the land belonged to Haninozuka Yorihisa, but it, along with a handful of staff, had been gifted to Mitsukuni as a place for them to live; no doubt, it was to encourage some… populating. With a contented sigh, she turned to follow him in, more intent on having a sandwich than a piece (or twelve) of cake.

* * *

Tamaki hummed happily, walking beside his short-haired companion, who kept her nose in her book and ignored him. Well, she ignored him for as long as she could.

"Senpai, please stop humming so loudly."

He feigned hurt, "But, Koibito, it's a beautiful day!"

Her eye twitched, "And stop calling me 'koibito'."

"Well, you are, aren't you?" he argued, reaching down to clasp her hand in his.

Haruhi glared off in the other direction, pink tinting her cheeks. She honestly had no idea how she had ended up dating him, not that she was complaining… loudly. What she did complain about, Tamaki knew was just a defense mechanism; the girl had managed to be indifferent about every guy she had ever met, and the relationship status was giving her trouble.

While the affection side of their relationship was going slowly, neither had much trouble shifting into the mindset of dating. Honestly, it had taken them four years, more than enough time, to get to where they were with each other.

They finally reached Haruhi's apartment—she still hadn't moved out of the apartment that she shared with her father—and Tamaki hesitated at the door. She turned, giving him an exasperated sigh; he always panicked at the thought of seeing her father.

"He's not even home," she assured him peevishly, "Now get in here. Air-conditioning isn't free, you know."

He nodded sheepishly, stepping in and closing the door behind him, before removing his shoes and stepping up onto the soft carpeting. Except for his phobia over her father, he had gotten quite used to her house even before they started dating, and he didn't worry about falling into commoners' traps, anymore, either.

She went into the kitchen to get them some tea and a snack, while Tamaki looked around the room, eyes coming to rest on Fujioka Kotoko's mini-memorial. While he was sad for Haruhi's loss, he was also grateful, because the chances of Haruhi being who she was today would have been slim if her mother hadn't… If things had been different. He couldn't even bring himself to feel bad about the selfishness of that thought, as he bowed his head and gave a short prayer for the deceased woman.

With a tray in hand, Haruhi exited the kitchen, catching Tamaki in the middle of his silent 'conversation' with her mother. "You don't have to feel obligated to do that every time you come here," she told him, placing the tray on the table, and sitting on one side.

"I don't do it because I feel obligated," he said, smiling calmly at the girl, "I do it because I want to."

Haruhi stayed silent then, watching him carefully. _It seems like he really means it_, she thought, bringing her tea to her lips.

"Well, then," she mumbled self-consciously, "Thank you."

He sat across from her, looking at her softly. There really wasn't anything more to say on the subject after that, so they sat quietly, just enjoying each other's company—yes, even Haruhi.

It was the brunette that spoke first after a minute. "So, about this book you lent me," she said, waving the aforementioned reading material in front of him, "What's with the main antagonist?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, "He's just the bad guy."

"Yeah," she argued, "But what _made_ him bad? Are people just _born_ evil?"

"I don't know," he repeated, loving the girl's sharp mind, but hating her habit of over thinking things.

She raised an eyebrow, "Well, who's the most evil person you can think of?"

"_Beelzenef_," he responded automatically, fear dripping in the very way he said the name.

"Uh, Senpai, that's a puppet."

"Still evil." She shook her head.

"Paranoid idiot," she muttered under her breath. _Why do I even like him?_

* * *

Amelia stepped in, and looked around her condo. It was a lot smaller than the home she had left, but she wasn't about to complain. Since telling her ex-fiancé and her mother to basically shove it, she had gotten a job, and now did her own laundry and cooked her own meals—which consisted mostly of burnt pancakes and instant ramen.

Mori had offered her a wing of the Morinozuka estate; his father objected to Mori keeping a _concubine_ on the grounds, though he eventually let up after having a talk with his son (a talk which, one might add, Mori hadn't allowed Amelia to witness), but Amelia had declined in favor of doing for herself for once in her life. It was amazing how punching someone in the face—but only if they _really_ deserved it—could make a person feel so independent.

Of course, Mori hadn't let her off the hook that easily, and had somehow gotten his father to allow him to purchase a condo for her. He even went so far as to visit her every evening, though she supposed that he had less to do now that Hunny didn't spend so much time with him. Today, though, he had beaten her there, and was waiting for her on her couch.

"Mori," she greeted, putting her bag on the floor, "You're early." Though her work was mainly filing papers and scheduling appointments for her boss, she was quite proud of herself for doing the work, even if it meant that she sometimes had to put up with innuendos from her slimy boss.

He stood and took the few steps to stand in front of her, noting how her makeup was getting less and less thick as her bruises slowly healed. After this thought, he began their routine, him starting by pecking her lips and asking how her day was. She always said it was fine, unless something worth telling him had happened, and then she asked how his day had been, to which he would always reply with a noncommittal grunt.

After this usual exchange, they sat on the couch together, sometimes she read, sometimes she went on her laptop and checked the Willard-Jones Publishing stocks. Either way, Mori was usually happy to just sit beside her, sometimes watching television, but more often than not, watching her closely.

Today, she checked on the family business, even though it no longer had much to do with her, and then closed her laptop with a soft click, and set it on the coffee table. Leaning back against the couch again, she looked to see what he was watching on the TV, and saw that it was some kind of news coverage on a festival that would be held over the weekend.

Not really paying attention to the show, he watched her stare blankly at the screen, before asking a familiar question.

"Do you like Japan?"

She blinked at him, giving him a tiny smile once she comprehended the question. "I like it more and more," she kissed him, "Everyday." She ran a hand through his hair, "And do you like Britain?"

He studied her for a moment, "I have the only worthwhile part right here with me."

She was so overwhelmed by the sheer romanticism of that answer, that she couldn't even think to be surprised at how long the statement had been. Hand still in his hair, she pulled him down and kissed him square on the lips.

They stayed like that for a very long time, until Amelia suddenly hopped up and smirked down at him, "I'll go make dinner."

He sighed, she always knew how to ruin a moment, but couldn't help a smile at the next thing she said.

"And I promise I _won't_ burn it this time."

* * *

Renge settled herself at the desk next to her fiancé, documents in hand. While she wasn't always there when he did paperwork, he was always there when she did it, tapping away on his laptop, even when there was no work for him to do as far as she knew. Then again, he probably had tons of things on the side that she didn't know about.

Lately, since her father had awarded half of the company to her (the other half would go to Kyouya once they were married), she had been taking her job very seriously. While she was still very much the same dating-sim-loving girl she had been in high school, she was also now a businesswoman, who knew exactly how to take care of her company. Her father was really quite happy for her change in attitude, and had a good guess what had caused the change.

Kyouya had silently questioned the man's sanity when he had given Renge a manila envelope, full of important documents and bids from other corporations, wanting to buy or merge with the Houshakuji's.

On her side of the desk, she hissed at the low offers and raised her eyebrow at the high ones, deeply involved it the documents she was reading. He honestly didn't see much point, though; Renge had made it clear that nothing could persuade her to sell her father's company.

Kyouya ceased his typing momentarily, thinking back to when his father, Ootori Yoshio, had gone to Renge's father about the matter of their engagement.

"_You do realize that as a third son, his inheritance could very well end up being quite small," he had pointed out._

"_Yes," replied Houshakuji-san sternly, "But I consider a son-in-law an investment of my daughter's happiness, not an investment of money."_

Sure, the answer that her father had given hadn't made much sense to Kyouya, _or_ Yoshio, but Renge had seemed pleased with her father's explanation; and the reason for him letting the two be married really made no difference, anyway.

The girl paused in her work, then, looking at him. "Kyouya," she addressed him, long since dropping an honorific, "Do you think Tamaki-kun and Haruhi-chan will beat us to a wedding?"

"I doubt that," he replied thoughtfully, "Haruhi's quite stubborn."

Renge hummed, "Then what do you suppose will happen?"

"Are you foreshadowing something, Renge?"

She shrugged, "We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"

* * *

**Owari!**

**A/n: That's it for the edited version of Dearest/Starling. I want to thank everyone who read, reviewed and favorited the original versions. I'll probably go through and edit Darling now, and maybe (gasp!) finish it at some point. I make no promises, since all they ever manage to do is turn me into a liar.**


End file.
